D  S 


EXCHANGE 


JAN  23  1914 

THE  KINGS  OF  LYDIA 


AND  A 


REARRANGEMENT  OF  SOME  FRAGMENTS 
FROM  NICOLAUS  OF   DAMASCUS 


A  DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED  TO  THE 

FACULTY  OF  PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE 

OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 
LEIGH  ALEXANDER 


1913 


THE  KINGS  OF  LYDIA 


AND  A 


REARRANGEMENT   OF  SOME  FRAGMENTS 
FROM  NICOLAUS  OF   DAMASCUS 


A  DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED  TO  THE 

FACULTY  OF  PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE 

OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 
LEIGH  ALEXANDER 


1913 


Accepted  by  the  Department  of  Classics 
June,  1911 


- 


PREFACE 

The  present  work  was  undertaken  shortly  after  the  exca- 
vation of  Sardes,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  H.  C. 
Butler,  was  begun.  It  was  at  first  my  intention  to  write  con- 
cerning the  history  of  that  city  in  the  Greek  or  the  Roman 
period ;  and  some  time  in  the  future  that  purpose  may  perhaps 
be  carried  out.  On  examination,  however,  it  seemed  that 
there  was  in  our  traditional  sources  concerning  "the  kings  of 
Lydia"  enough  material  for  further  discussion  of  that  subject. 

The  present  study  has  been  carried  on  under  the  direction  of 
Professor  William  K.  Prentice,  and  I  wish  to  acknowledge 
my  great  indebtedness  to  him  for  his  constant  assistance 
and  advice,  and  for  his  unsparing  criticisms.  My  debt  to 
him  is  especially  great  in  Chapter  III.  My  most  hearty  thanks 
are  also  due  to  Professor  Edward  Capps,  for  his  unfailing 
encouragement,  and  for  his  stimulating  suggestions. 

LEIGH  ALEXANDER 
Oberlin,  Ohio. 
January,  1914. 


29 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  7 

I.  The  sources.     Limits  of  the  present  work 7 

II.  Previous  monographs  on  this  subject 7 

CHAPTER  I.     THE  RELATION  TO  ONE  ANOTHER  OF  SOME 

FRAGMENTS    CONCERNING    LYDIA    FROM    NlCOLAUS'    UNI- 
VERSAL HISTORY 9 

I.  The  Excerpta  de  Virtutibus  et  Vitiis 9 

II.  The  Excerpta  de  Insidiis 16 

III.  Tentative  "original"  account  in  Nicolaus 19 

CHAPTER  II.    MELES 21 

I.  Meles  I,  II,  III.  Were  they  the  same  person  or  not?  21 

II.  M-eles  II  and  III,  and  the  Kambles  story 22 

1.  Possible  reasons  for  considering  Meles  II  and 

III  different  persons   22 

2.  Reasons  for  identifying  Meles  II  and  III 25 

3.  Position  of  fr.  28  (Kamblitas  or  Kambles)  in 

Nicolaus'  narrative 28 

4.  Element  of  historical  fact  in  Nicolaus'  account 

of  Meles 28 

III.  Meles  I   30 

1.  Not  necessarily  founder  of  Sardes 30 

2.  Relation  between  Meles  I,  II,  and  III 31 

3.  Relation  between  the  Lion  story  and  Nicolaus' 

account  of  Meles 31 

IV.  Conclusion :     There  was  only  one  Meles 31 

CHAPTER  III.  THE  HERAKLEID  AND  MERMNAD  DYNASTIES 

OF  LYDIA 33 

I.  Summary  of  the  traditional  accounts 33 

1.  Nicolaus   33 

2.  Herodotus 36 

3.  The  chronographers   37 

II.  Discussion  of  certain  details  in  the  traditional  ac- 
counts      39 

1.  Sadyattes  (Adyattes,  Alyattes),  a  royal  'title'. .  39 

2.  Kambles    (  ?)  —  Sadyattes,  the  3rd   Mermnad 
king 40 

5 


CONTENTS 

3.  Adramytes  =  Adramys  =  Hermon  (  ?)  =  Aly- 
attes,  father  of  Croesus 42 

4.  The  murderer  of  Daskylos  1 43 

5.  The    irpoTraTopts    of  Kandaules  (Sadyattes) ...   45 

6.  Moxos    (Mopsos)    and  Askalos 46 

7.  "Ardys"  and  Akiamos  48 

8.  Askalos  and  Daskylos  1 49 

9.  Historical   summary   of   disturbances   in   reign 

of  Akiamos ^2 

10.  "Sadyattes"  the  "regent",  son  of  Kadys 53 

II-  Tylon 53 

III.  New  "genealogical"  list  of  kings 57 

1.  The  list 57 

2.  Meles'  position  in  the  list 60 

3.  Conclusion    60 


INTRODUCTION 

I.  The  traditional  sources  for  the  history  of  the  Lydian 
kings  are  familiar.    They  consist  chiefly  of  the  first  book  of 
Herodotus,   the    fragments   of   Xanthus'   Lydiaca,   the    frag- 
ments of  Nicolaus  of  Damascus  concerning  Lydian  history, 
together  with  the  lists  of  Lydian  kings  contained  in  the  works 
of  the  Christian  chronographers,  Julius  Africanus,  Eusebius, 
Hieronymus,  etc.    The  other  traditional  sources  which  mention 
Lydian  kings  are,  for  the  most  part,  incidental  references  of 
no  value  in  the  present  study,  which  is  concerned  almost  en- 
tirely  with   the   "Herakleid"    and   "Mermnad"    dynasties   of 
Lydian  kings  and  does  not  undertake  a  consideration  of  the 
earliest  kings  and  mythical  heroes  of  Lydia. 

II.  Besides   passages   in   works   of  larger  scope,   such  as 
histories,  commentaries  on  ancient  authors,  etc.,  there  have 
been  within  the  past  century,  among  other  monographs  bear- 
ing more  or  less  directly  on  the  history  of  the  kings  of  Lydia, 
two    dissertations    which   are   of    special    importance   in   the 
present  work: 

R.  Schubert,  Geschichte  der  Konige  von  Lydien,  Breslau, 
1884. 

G.  Radet,  La  Lydie  et  le  monde  grec  au  temps  des  Merm- 

nades,  Paris,  1893. 

After  careful  examination  and  comparison  with  the  original 
ancient  sources,  it  has  seemed  necessary  in  a  number  of  cases 
to  differ  very  materially  from  the  works  just  mentioned,  both 
as  to  method  of  treatment  and  also  as  to  conclusions  obtained. 
It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  revert  once  more  to  the  original 
sources  and  subject  them  to  a  fresh  study.  Before,  however, 
a  comprehensive  treatment  of  the  sources  is  undertaken,  the 
path  may  be  cleared  by  two  preliminary  investigations,  which 
will  be  found  in  chapters  I  and  II. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  RELATION  TO  ONE  ANOTHER  OF  SOME  FRAGMENTS  CONCERN- 
ING LYDIA  FROM  NICOLAUS'  UNIVERSAL  HisTORY1 

It  is  well  known  that  many  of  the  extant  fragments  of 
Nicolaus  of  Damascus  come  to  us  through  two  of  the  collec- 
tions of  excerpts  prepared  for  the  Emperor  Constantinus 
Porphyrogenitus  (912-956  A.D.).  These  are  the  Excerpta  de 
Virtutibus  et  Vitiis,  and  the  Excerpta  de  Insidiis.  In  both 
of  these  collections  there  were  excerpts  from  other  works  by 
Nicolaus,  doubtless  made  by  the  same  excerptor  or  group  of 
excerptors ;  but  our  present  investigation  is  concerned  only  with 
the  excerpts  from  his  Universal  History,  of  which  Lydian 
history  formed  a  part. 

I.     The  Excerpta  de  Virtutibus  et  Vitiis. 

By  running  over  the  pages  of  this  work,2  we  can  soon  see 
clearly  that  the  chief  excerptor's  general  plan  and  method 
was  to  go  through  the  works  of  various  writers,  e.g.,  Josephus, 
Diodorus,  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  Polybius,  Appian,  etc., 
and  among  them  Nicolaus  of  Damascus,  and  gather  together 
anecdotes  and  accounts  illustrative  of  the  main  theme,  virtues 
and  vices.  It  would  be  natural,  one  would  think,  to  begin  at 
the  beginning  of  each  source  book,  and  go  straight  through, 
noting  down  the  Virtues'  and  Vices';  and  this  method  is 
followed  in  the  excerpts  from  Josephus  and  Diodorus,3  ap- 
parently without  any  mistakes  or  variations  from  the  true 
order  in  the  original  works  of  these  authors.  Now,  in  deter- 
mining whether  this  same  'straightforward'  system  of  arrange- 
ment is  followed  also  in  the  excerpts  from  Nicolaus,  the 
accompanying  tables  will  be  of  assistance.  The  first  is  a 
complete  list  according  to  Miiller  (FHG.  Ill)  of  all  the  frag- 
ments from  Nicolaus'  Universal  History,  books  I-VII,  includ- 

l'I<FTopia  KaQoKiK-fj.     Cf.  Suidas  s.  v.  Ni/c6Xaos  Aa/to<r/c7ji'6j. 

*  Excerpta  Historica  iussu  Imp.  Constant.  Porphyrogen.  confecta; 
ed.  Biittner-Wobst  (1906),  vol.  II,  pars  I,  passim;  also  the  'Tr60e<rtj 
of  the  same  work,  pp.  1-3.  See  also  the  edition  of  the  Excerpta  by  H. 
Valesius  (Henri  de  Valois),  Paris,  1634. 

1  See  the  conspectus  on  pp.  362  ff.  of  the  volume  and  edition  of 
the  Excerpta  cited.  Compare  also  the  numbering  of  the  sections 
in  the  text,  throughout  the  edition. 

9 


IO  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

ing  not  only  the  fragments  preserved  in  the  two  series  of 
Excerpta  mentioned  above,  but  also  those  that  have  come 
down  to  us  through  other  writers.  The  second  table  shows,  in 
a  double  or  parallel  outline,  the  fragments  contained  in  the  two 
series  of  Excerpta  only. 

Table  I.  Tabular  list  of  fragments  from  Nicolaus'  Universal 
History,  books  I-Vll. 

The  numbering  of  fragments  and  their  arrangement  in 
'books'  follow  Miiller,  in  FHG.  Ill,  345  ff.,  356  ff.  A  double 
asterisk  (*  *)  indicates  that  the  fragments  so  marked  are 
definitely  assigned,  by  their  own  wording,  to  their  respective 
'books'  in  Nicolaus'  work.  The  section  numbers  in  the  Exc. 
de  Virt.  from  Nicolaus,  and  in  the  Exc.  de  Ins.  from  this 
author,  are  those  of  Biittner-Wobst  and  De  Boor  respectively. 
See  the  two  parts  of  Table  II. 

1 1,  II.]  Assyria  and  Media. 

Fr.     7  (Exc.  de  Ins.  2)  Semiramis. 

8  (Exc.  de  Virt.  7)   Sardanapalos. 

9  (Exc.  de  Ins.  3)  Sardanapalos. 

10  (Exc.  de  Virt.  8)  Parsondas  and  Nanaros. 

11  (Suidas  s.v.  e^Ke/cX^a)  Nanaros. 

12  (Exc.  de  Virt.  9)  Zarina  and  Stryangaios. 
**I3   (Etym.  M.  p.  180,  43)  Achaemenes  of  Persia. 

[III.]     Early  Greece,  etc. 

Fr.  14  (Exc.  de  Ins.  4)  Boeotia:  Amphion  and  Zethos. 

15  (Exc.  de  Ins.  5)  Boeotia:  Laios. 

1 6  (Exc.  de  Virt.  10)  Bellerophon. 

17  (Exc.  de  Ins.  6)  Peloponnesus:  Pelops  and  Oeno- 

maus. 

1 8  (Exc.  de  Virt.  n)  Thessaly:  the  Argonauts. 

19  (Exc.    de   Ins.    7)    Thessaly:   Larisa,    daughter  of 

Piasos. 

20  (Exc.  de  Virt.  12)  Herakles. 

21  (Exc.  de  Virt.  13)  Troy:  King  Skamandros. 
2ia  (Schol.  Horn.  Odyss.  I.  21)  Odysseus. 

IV.  Lydia,  etc. 

**Fr.  22   (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  Top/n^os)  Torrhebos. 

23  (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  Av/coo-fleVrj)  Lycosthene  (city). 

24  (Exc.  de  Virt.  14)  Meles  the  tyrant;  Moxos. 
**25   (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  Nijpa^os)  Nerabos  (city). 


FRAGMENTS    FROM    NICOLAUS    CONCERNING    LYDIA  II 


**26  (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  'Ao-KoXwv)  Askalos,  general  of 

Akiamos. 

27  (Exc.  de  Virt.  15)  Daughter  of  Salmoneus. 

28  (Exc.  de  Virt.  16)  Kamblitas  (Kambles). 

**29  (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  'AO-KUVUI)  Ascania  (city  in  Troad). 

Damascus. 

**Fr.  30  (Josephus  Ant.  lud.  I.  7.  2)  Abraham. 
31    (Josephus  Ant.  lud.  VII.  5.  2)  Adados. 

Greece. 
**Fr.  32   (Const.  Porph.  De  them.  II.  6)  Peloponnesus. 

33  (Exc.  de  Virt.  17)  The  Amythaonidae  (of  Pylos). 

34  (Exc.  de  Ins.  8)  Agamemnon  and  Aegisthus. 
**35   (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  Kapvta)  Karnia  (city  in  Ionia). 

36  (Exc.  de  Virt.  18)  The  Heracleidae. 
**37  (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  ®opvo£)  Mt.  Thornax  in  Laconia. 

38  (Exc.  de  Ins.  9)  Temenos,  and  Deiphontes  one  of  the 

Heracleidae. 

39  (Exc.  de  Ins.  10,  n)  Kresphontes  and  Aipytos  of 

Sparta. 

**4O  (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  Meo-oXa,  Nijpt's)  Messenian  cities. 
41   (Exc.  de  Ins.  12,  13)  Pheidon:  Korinthos. 

V.    Greece:  Arcadia. 

Fr.  42   (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  *A/>Kas)  The  name  Arcadia. 
43   (Exc.  de  Virt.  19)  King  Lykaon  of  Arcadia. 
**44  (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  Bwraxt'Seu,    napcipaa)  Arcadian 

cities. 

The  Euxine  and  Aegean. 

45  (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  Mco^/x/Jpta)  City  in  Thrace. 

46  (Socrates  Hist.  Eccles.  VII.  25)   Chrysopolis,  city 

near  the  Bosporus. 

**47   (Steph.  Byz.  s.v.  Staves,  2/cvpos,  'A/xopyos)  Islands  in 

the  Aegean. 
48   (Steph.    Byz.    s.v.  'Ay^nf**  'Y^pSe&ov)    Places  in 

Lesbos. 

[VI.]    Lydia. 

Fr.  49  (Exc.  de  Ins.  14,  15)  Ardys  to  Gyges. 

Greece. 
Fr.  50   (Exc.  de  Ins.  16)  Athens. 

51  (Exc.  de  Virt.  20)  Athens. 

52  (Exc.  de  Ins.  17)  Cyrene. 


12  THE    KINGS   OF   LYDIA 

53  (Exc.  de  Ins.  18)  Ionia. 

54  (Exc.  de  Ins.  19,  20)  Ionia. 

55  (Exc.  de  Ins.  21)  Tbessaly:  Jason  and  Medeia. 

56  (Exc.  de  Virt.  21)  Thessaly:  Acastus  and  Peleus. 
**57  (Exc.  de  Virt.  22)  Sparta:  Lycurgus. 

[VII.]   Greece. 

Fr.  58  (Exc.  de  Ins.  22)  Corinth:  Cypselus. 

59  (Exc.  de  Virt.  23)  Corinth:  Periander. 

60  (Exc.  de  Ins.  23,  24)  Corinth:  Periander. 

61  (Exc.  de  Ins.  25)  Sicyon:  Myron. 

Lydia. 
Fr.  62  (Exc.  de  Virt.  24)  Gyges  and  Magnes. 

63  (Exc.  de  Virt.  25)  Sadyattes,  son  of  Alyattes. 

64  (Exc.  de  Virt.  26)  Alyattes,  son  of  Sadyattes. 

65  (Exc.  de  Virt.  27)  Croesus. 

Persia  and  Media. 

66  (Exc.  de  Ins.  26)  Cyrus. 

67  (Exc.  de  Virt.  28)  Cyrus. 

Lydia. 

68  (Exc.  de  Virt.  29)  Croesus  and  Cyrus. 

Rome. 

69  (Exc.  de  Virt.  30)  Amulius  and  Numitor. 
**7<D  (Exc.  de  Virt.  31)  Romulus. 


Table  II.  The  two  parts  of  this  table  are  given  below,  facing 
each  other,  on  pages  14  and  15. 


FRAGMENTS    FROM    NICOLAUS    CONCERNING    LYDIA  13 

At  first  sight,  in  the  second  table,  if  we  look  only  at  the  order 
of  the  excerpts  and  their  subjects,  there  appears  to  be  little 
or  no  classification,  or  at  best  only  a  very  haphazard  arrange- 
ment. The  excerptor  seems  to  give  a  section  or  group  of 
extracts  from  one  part  of  Nicolaus'  work,  following  them  by  a 
few  from  another  part,  then  returning  again  to  some  country 
already  touched  upon,  and  so  on.  Is  this  chaos  due  to  lack 
of  system  on  the  part  of  the  excerptor,  or  due  to  Nicolaus 
himself  ? 

Miiller  has  divided  these  Excerpta,  assigning  particular  ex- 
cerpts to  particular  'books'  of  Nicolaus'  Universal  History. 
An  indication  of  this  division  into  books  is  given  in  the  left- 
hand  column  in  the  outline  of  the  Exc.  de  Virtutibus.  We  can 
trace  some  of  the  excerpts  in  this  collection  to  their  proper 
books  with  certainty,  others  with  probability,  as  follows.  At 
the  end  of  Exc.  de  Virt.  22  we  find  re'Aos  rov  s'  Ao'yov  Ni/coXaov 
Aa/xao-KTjvov.  At  the  end  of  Exc.  de  Virt.  31  we  find  T&OS  TOV  £  ' 
Ao'yov  TI/S  NtKoAaov  to-ropta*.  These  excerpts  belong  therefore 
without  doubt  to  books  VI  and  VII  respectively.  Next, 
Miiller4  puts  Exc.  de  Virt.  19  into  book  V,  because  this 
excerpt  is  about  Lykaon  of  Arcadia,  and  frags.  42  and  44  (from 
Steph.  Byz.)  about  Arcadia  (compare  Table  I)  are  expressly 
assigned  to  book  V  in  the  wording  of  the  fragments  themselves. 
On  the  same  principle  Miiller  rightly  puts  Exc.  de  Virt.  17  and 
18  (FHG.  Ill,  374,  375;  frags.  33,  36)  into  book  IV.  These 
fragments  are  about  the  Peloponnesus  and  the  Heracleidae; 
and  fragments  32,  37,  and  40  (Miiller's  numbering;  compare 
Table  I)  are  also  about  the  Peloponnesus  and  are  expressly 
assigned  to  book  IV.  Miiller  also  with  good  reason  puts  Exc. 
de  Virt.  14-16  into  book  IV  (frags.  24,  27,  28).  They  are 
on  Lydian  history;  and  frags.  22  and  26  (compare  Table  I), 
from  Steph.  Byz.,  also  on  Lydian  history,  are  expressly  as- 
signed to  book  IV.  Lastly,  Exc.  de  Virt.  7-9  (Miiller  frags. 
8,  10,  12)  concerning  Assyria  and  Media,  doubtless  belong  to 
book  I  or  book  II  of  Nicolaus,  not  only  because  they  come  at 
the  very  beginning  of  the  series  of  excerpts  from  his  Universal 
History  (Exc.  de  Virt.  1-6  are  taken  from  his  Auto- 
biography), but  also  because  frag.  13  concerning  Achaemenes 

«FHG.  III.     378,  379;  frag.  43- 


TABLE  II  :  first  part. 
Outline  of  the  fragments  from  Nicolaus'  Universal  History  contained  in  the 
EXCERPTA  DE  VlRTUTlBUS  ET  VlTlIS. 

Muller'f  arrangement  in 
'books'.    FHG.  Ill,  345  ff., 
350  ff. 

Numbering  of  the  sections 
in  the  edition  of  the 
Exc.  de  Virt. 
by  BUttner-Wobst 

Content  of  fragments. 

in 

*7,  8,  9 
(Mullcr  fr.  8.  10.  12) 

ASSYRIA  AND  MEDIA. 

10-13 

EARLY  GREECE. 

10(M.  16) 

Bellerophon. 

in 

11(M.18) 

Thessaly:  the  Argonauts. 

12(M.  20) 

Herakles 

13(M.21) 

Troy  :  king  Skamandros. 

IV 

•14-16 
14(M.  24) 
15(M.  27) 
16(M.  28) 

LYDIA. 
Meles  the  tyrant;  Moios. 
Daughter  of  Salmoneus. 
Kamblitas  (Kambles). 

17-23 
17-19 
•171M.33) 
•18(M.36) 

GREECE. 
Peloponnesus. 
The  Amythaonidae  (of  Pylos). 
The  Hcracleidae. 

V 

•19(M.43) 

Arcadia  :  king  Lykaon. 

20(M.51) 

Athens. 

VI 

21(M.56) 

Thessaly;  Acastusand  Pclcus. 

••22(M.57) 

Peloponnesus. 
Sparta;  king  Lycurgus. 

23  (M.  59) 

Corinth:  Periander. 

vn 

24-29  (M.  62-65.  67.  68) 

LYDIA.  Gyges  and  his  successors.  Cyrus  of  PERSIA. 

•  *30.  31  (M.  69.  70) 

ROME:    Amulius;  Numitor;  Romulus. 

•  Miillcr's  assignment  of  these  fragments  or  sections  to  this  particular  '  bbok'  of  Nicolaus'  Universal  History 
is  very  probable. 
**  Assignment  certain. 

TABLE  II  :  second  pan. 

Outline  of  the  fragments  from  Nicolaus'  Universal  History  contained  in  the 

EXCERPTA  DE  INSIDIIS. 

Proposed  new 

Muller's  arrangement 

Numbering  of   the  sections 
in  the  edition  of  the  Exc. 

arrangement 

in  'books'.    FHG. 

de  Ins.  by  De  Boor  (series 

Content  of  fragments. 

of  'books'. 

Ill,  345  ff.,  356  ff. 

with  Boissevain  and 
Biittner-Wobst). 

Ill 

2,  3  (Miillcr  fr.  7,  9) 

ASSYRIA  AND  MEDIA. 

4-13 

EARLY  GREECE. 

4.  5  (M.  14.  15) 

Boeotia:  Amphion  and  Zethos;  Uios. 

in 

6-13 

Peloponnesus,  etc. 

6(M.17) 

Pelops  and  Oenomaus. 

7(M.19) 

Thessaly^Larisa.*  daughter  of  Piasos. 

in 

8(M.34) 
9(M.38) 

Agamemnon  and  Aegisthus. 
Te^nenos.  and  Deiphontes  one  of 

the  Heracleidae. 

10.  11  (M.  39) 

Kresphontes  and  Aipytos  of  Sparta. 

12  "\ 

Pheidon. 

13  /  (    ' 

Korinthos. 

14.  15  (M.  fr.  49) 

LYDIA. 

Ardys  to  Gygcj. 

IV 

VI 

v 

16-25 

GREECE. 

16  (ML  50) 

Athens. 

17(M.52) 

Cyrenc 

VI 

18-20  (M.  53,  54) 

Ionia. 

21(M.  55) 

Thessaly  :  Jason  and  Medeia. 

VII 

vn 

22-24  (M.  58.  60) 

25{M.  61) 

26  (M.  661 

Corinth:  Cypselus;    Periander. 
Sicyon  :    Myron. 
PERSIA  and  MEDIA.            Cyrus. 

27  (M.  101) 

ROME;  Life  of  Caesar. 

•See  MuUer.  FHG.  Ill,  36«,  note  19. 

1 6  THE    KINGS    OF   LYDIA 

of  Persia  (compare  Table  I)  is  expressly  assigned  to 
book  II.  There  are  no  indications  (such  as  the  foregoing)  of 
the  particular  'books'  to  which  Exc.  de  Virt  10-13,  20,  21, 
23-29  belong;  but  we  have  just  seen  that  the  definitely  located 
excerpts  and  those  located  with  extreme  probability  appear 
in  perfectly  regular  and  normal  positions  in  the  series.  That 
is,  excerpts  from  books  I  and  II  come  at  the  beginning  of  the 
series,  excerpts  from  book  IV  a  little  farther  along,  and  after 
them  in  regular  succession  excerpts  from  books  V,  VI,  and 
VII.  One  may  therefore  feel  practically  certain  that  the 
doubtful  excerpts,  though  no  clue  or  indication  of  position  is 
attached  to  them,  come  in  just  where  the  excerptor  puts  them, 
and  belong  to  the  'books'  to  which  Miiller  assigns  them.  Es- 
pecially is  this  true  of  Exc.  de  Virt.  23-29.  These  must  belong 
to  the  first  part  and  the  middle  part  of  Book  VII,  because 
they  come  between  Exc.  de  Virt.  22,  the  definitely  known  end 
of  book  VI,  and  Exc.  de  Virt.  30,  31,  the  definitely  located  end 
of  book  VII. 

We  may  conclude,  then,  that  the  excerptor  did  use  the  same 
'straightforward'  method  of  arrangement  not  only  in  his  ex- 
cerpts from  Josephus  and  Diodorus,  but  also  in  those  from 
Nicolaus;  and  the  apparent  confusion  in  the  subject  matter  is 
due  to  Nicolaus  himself.  His  plan  or  system  seems  to  have 
been  this:  to  take  one  historical  period  and  give  parallel  his- 
tories or  accounts  of  different  countries,  one  after  the  other, 
all  belonging  to  the  same  general  period;  then  to  take  a  later 
period  and  do  the  same  thing  over  again.  This  accounts  for 
the  frequent  returns  to  the  history  of  a  country  already 
touched  upon. 

II.    The  Excerpta  de  Insidiis. 

This  series  of  excerpts  is  similar  in  nature  to  the  Exc. 
de  Virtutibus,  and  consists  of  a  series  of  extracts  from 
various  authors,  all  bearing  upon  and  illustrating  the  main 
theme  indicated  in  the  title  of  the  collection.  And  here  also  one 
of  the  source  books  used  by  the  excerptor  was  Nicolaus' 
Universal  History.  For  purposes  of  comparison  the  outline 
of  the  Exc.  de  Ins.  has  already  been  given,  facing  that  of  the 
Exc.  de  Virt. 

Now,  in  the  Exc.  de  Virt.  we  have  seen  that  there  are  some 


FRAGMENTS    FROM    NICOLAUS    CONCERNING    LYDIA  If 

definite  indications  of  location,  assigning  particular  excerpts  to 
particular  books  in  Nicolaus'  work.  In  the  Exc.  de  Ins.  there 
are  no  such  indications.  But  one  needs  only  to  compare  the 
general  trend  of  the  subjects  or  countries  mentioned  in  the  two 
outlines  (the  right-hand  column  in  each  outline)  in  order  to 
feel  certain  that  in  both  collections  of  Excerpta  the  excerptor 
used  the  same  'straightforward'  method,  and  therefore  that  the 
order  of  the  excerpts  gives  us  the  correct  order  of  Nicolaus' 
own  work. 

Miiller  has  attempted  to  assign  the  particular  Excerpta  de 
Insidiis  to  their  respective  books,  and  one  may  agree  in  general 
with  his  assignments,  though  with  some  important  exceptions. 
In  the  Exc.  de  Ins.  Miiller  rightly  puts  the  history  of  Assyria 
and  Media  into  books  I  and  II.  Exc.  de  Ins.  4-7  he  rightly 
assigns  to  book  III,  in  which  early  Greek  history  is  treated,  as 
we  see  in  the  outline  of  the  Exc.  de  Virt.  Exc.  de  Ins.  16-21 
he  rightly  puts  in  book  VI,  and  22-26  in  book  VII.  We  may 
note  that  the  position  of  Exc.  de  Ins.  16,  21,  and  22-24, 
concerning  Athens,  Thessaly,  and  Corinth,  respectively,  corre- 
sponds exactly  in  the  general  order  of  the  excerpts  to  the  posi- 
tion of  Exc.  de  Virt.  20,  21,  and  23,  which  also  concern 
respectively  Athens,  Thessaly,  and  Corinth. 

But  Miiller  is  perhaps  wrong  in  assigning  Exc.  de  Ins.  8-13 
to  book  IV,  and  almost  certainly  wrong  in  putting  Exc.  de 
Ins.  14  and  15  into  book  VI.  One  can  easily  see,  however, 
why  he  did  so.  Exc.  de  Ins.  8-13  concern  the  history  of 
the  Peloponnesus,  and  No.  9  is  about  one  of  the  Heracleidae; 
and  this  seems  to  correspond  very  well  with  the  Greek 
history  from  book  IV  in  the  Exc.  de  Virt.  But  if  Exc.  de 
Ins.  8-13  belong  to  book  IV,  and  16-21  to  book  VI,  then 
14  and  15  (which  come  between  these  two  groups)  might  well 
be  assigned  to  book  V  or  perhaps  to  the  first  part  of  book  VI. 
This  would  be  Miiller's  reason,  if  expressed.5 

Against  this  view  the   following  considerations   seem  per- 

0  Even  he,  however,  recognizes  that  it  is  not  conclusive,  for  he  puts 
the  words  "['E*r  /3i/SX.  $']"  in  brackets  (cf.  FHG.  Ill,  380)  at  the  head 
of  frag.  49  (=  Exc.  de  Ins.  14,  15),  thus  showing  that  he  is  uncertain 
whether  it  should  be  assigned  to  that  book.  Compare  Table  I,  and 
contrast  the  lack  of  brackets  at  the  beginning  of  books  IV  and  V, 
where  he  feels  no  such  uncertainty. 


18 


THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 


tinent:  Miiller's  assignment  of  Exc.  de  Ins.  8-13  to  book  IV 
certainly  seems  within  the  range  of  possibility,  but  it  is  equally 
possible  to  put  them  in  book  III ;  for,  as  we  see  by  the  outline 
of  the  Exc.  de  Virt,  book  III  also  contains  Greek  history,  and 
one  excerpt  (No.  12)  is  about  Herakles.  That  is,  we  may 
consider  Exc.  de  Ins.  8-13  simply  a  continuation  of  the  same 
general  passage  to  which  4-7  belong,  and  thus  put  4-13  all  in 
book  III.  Further,  Agamemnon  (Exc.  de  Ins.  8)  would  of 
course  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  story  of  the  Trojan 
war,  and  in  the  outline  of  the  Exc.  de  Virt.  we  can  see  that 
there  is  a  corresponding  fragment  in  book  III  (No.  13)  deal- 
ing with  Skamandros,  King  of  Troy.  It  seems,  therefore, 
very  reasonable  indeed  to  place  Exc.  de  Ins.  8-13  in  book  III. 
It  would  of  course  be  possible  to  put  Exc.  de  Virt.  13  into 
book  IV  (though  Miiller  does  not  do  so),  and  then  retain 
Miiller's  location  of  Exc.  de  Ins.  8-13  in  book  IV  to  corre- 
spond with  it.  But  whether  the  two  groups,  Exc.  de  Virt.  13 
and  Exc.  de  Ins.  8-13  are  placed  both  of  them  in  book  III 
(which  seems  to  me  preferable),  or  whether  they  are  both 
placed  in  the  first  part  of  book  IV,  it  nevertheless  remains  true 
in  either  case  that  Exc.  de  Ins.  14  and  15  (concerning  Lydia) 
will  naturally  and  almost  of  necessity  fall  not  into  book  VI 
where  Miiller  places  them,  but  into  book  IV,  because  book  IV 
in  the  outline  of  the  Exc.  de  Virt.  contains  a  section  or  division 
on  Lydian  history  which,  as  we  have  seen  above,  can  be  defi- 
nitely assigned  to  book  IV.  In  this  way,  Lydian  history  occu- 
pies an  exactly  corresponding  position  in  both  outlines.  Fur- 
ther, at  the  end  of  the  Exc.  de  Virt.  we  have  this  order: 
"Corinth — Lydia  and  Persia — Rome",  corresponding  to  "Co- 
rinth— Persia  and  Media — Rome"  at  the  end  of  the  Exc.  de  Ins. 
Thus,  all  the  Oriental  sections  throughout  the  two  outlines 
will  correspond  exactly :  the  fragments  from  book  VII,  Persia 
and  Media — Lydia,  Persia;  from  book  IV,  Lydia — Lydia; 
from  books  I,  II,  Assyria  and  Media — Assyria  and  Media. 
But  this  correspondence,  stated  a  little  differently,  and  coupled 
with  the  other  coincidences  of  arrangement  already  pointed  out, 
means  simply  that  the  entire  outline  of  the  Exc.  de  Ins.  will 
thus  correspond,  throughout,  in  its  arrangement,  to  that  of 
the  Exc.  de  Virtutibus. 

The   proposed    change,    or    reassignment    of    fragments    to 


FRAGMENTS    FROM    NICOLAUS    CONCERNING    LYDIA  IQ 

books  in  the  Exc.  de  Insidiis,  seems  therefore  considerably 
more  satisfactory  than  Miiller's  arrangement. 

III.  Proceeding  then  from  this  basis,  we  can  see  at  once 
that  Exc.  de  Virt.  14-16  (Meles  and  Moxos;  Kambles)  and 
Exc.  de  Ins.  14,  15  (Ardys  to  Gyges)  belong  to  the  same 
general  passage  on  Lydian  history,  in  the  same  book  of 
Nicolaus'  Universal  History.  The  importance  of  this  will 
be  brought  out  later.  Meanwhile,  the  question  at  once  arises : 
in  what  order  should  these  fragments  in  book  IV  from  the 
Exc.  de  Virt.  and  those  from  the  Exc.  de  Ins.  be  combined, 
so  as  to  arrive  at  the  original  consecutive  order  of  the  narrative 
in  Nicolaus  concerning  Lydian  history  ?  A  tentative  arrangement 
or  combination  of  the  fragments  is  represented  by  the  column  or 
table  given  on  the  next  page,  and  in  the  following  pages  reasons 
will  be  given  for  inserting  particular  fragments  where  they  are 
here  placed.  With  such  an  "original  account"  in  Nicolaus,  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  column,  belonging  to  the  earlier  section 
of  Lydian  history  (Nicolaus  book  IV)  the  excerptor  de 
Virt.  et  Vit.  would  find  nothing  to  suit  the  purposes  of  his 
collection  of  Virtues' and  Vices' except  the  bravery  of  Moxos  and 
the  gluttony  of  Kambles  (Kamblitas).  But  the  rest  of  this  first 
part,  detailing  the  plots  and  rivalry  (insidiae)  between  the  two 
great  families  of  the  Heracleidae  and  the  Mermnadae,  would 
naturally  be  given  at  some  length  by  the  excerptor  de  Insi- 
diis. And  vice  versa  the  entire  lower  part  of  the  column,  the 
later  section  of  Lydian  history  (Nicolaus  book  VII),  would 
from  its  very  nature  be  appropriate  for  the  Exc.  de  Virt.  et 
Vit.,  but  not  for  the  Exc.  de  Ins. 


I 


CHAPTER  II 
MELES 

I.  The  present  discussion  will  be  easier  to  follow,  if  the 
entire  "summary  of  traditional  accounts",  given  below  at  the 
beginning  of  Chapter  III,  be  read  here.  In  our  traditional 
accounts  of  Lydia,  we  have  three  different  stories  about  a 
person  or  persons  named  Meles,  two  of  which  are  found  in  the 
fragments  of  Nicolaus. 

1.  Meles  of  the  Lion,6  whom  we  may  call  Meles  I.     Hero- 
dotus (I.  84)  tells  the  familiar  story  about  a  King  Meles  whose 
concubine  bore  him  a  lion.    This  beast  he  was  to  carry  round 
the  walls  of  the  acropolis  at  Sardes,  according  to  the  directions 
of   the   oracle   at   Telmessos,   and   thus   render   the   fortress 
impregnable. 

2.  Meles  the  Tyrant,7  who  was  driven  out  by  Moxos.    We 
may  call  him  Meles  II. 

3.  King  Meles,8  who  went  into  voluntary  exile  to  Babylon. 
He  may  be  called  Meles  III. 

Thus  far  historians  have  considered  that  at  least  Meles  II 
was  different  from  Meles  III,  e.g.  Rawlinson,  Hist,  of  Hero- 
dotus (1880),  vol.  I,  342,  note  i ;  Stein,  Herodotos  (1901),  vol. 
I,  103;  How  and  Wells,  Com.  on  Herodotus  (1912),  vol.  I,  97. 
Among  those  who  make  this  distinction  are  Schubert  and 
Radet.  The  latter  does  not  mention  Meles  II  at  all;  so  we 
may  conclude  that  he  classes  the  story  about  him  among  the 
"recits9  purement  legendaires"  to  which  he  consigns  Meles  I. 
But  he  certainly  does  not  consider  the  Meles  of  the  Exile  (III) 
to  be  the  same  as  Meles  the  Tyrant  (II)  ;  else,  where  he  dis- 
cusses the  reign10  of  the  former,  he  would  surely  make  some 
mention  of  the  latter  and  of  the  account  that  Moxos  drove 

*  The  relation  of  Meles  I  to  II   and  III  will  be  discussed  a  little 
later,  pp.  30  ff. ;  so  Meles  I  may  here  be  omitted  from  our  considera- 
tion, although  it  seemed  best  to  mention  him  here  in  order  to  justify 
the  terminology  I,  II,  III. 

7  Nicolaus  f  r.  24.     See  text  below,  p.  26. 

"  Nicolaus  fr.  49.  See  below,  summary  of  traditional  accounts, 
PP.  33,  34- 

•  La  Lydie,  70. 

"La  Lydie,  78,  83,  88,  et  al. 

21 


22  THE    KINGS   OF    LYDIA 

him  out.  Schubert  also  plainly  considers  Meles  II  and  III  to 
be  different  persons.  For  he  mentions  Meles  the  Tyrant  (II) 
on  p.  4  (Gesch.  d.  Kon.  v.  Lyd.)  as  the  predecessor  of  "King" 
Moxos,  among  the  kings  whom  he  believes  were  of  Herodotus' 
dynasty  of  the  "Atyadae"  (op.  cit.  p.  i).  But  he  does  not 
mention  him  at  all  on  pages  9,  10,  22,  where  he  takes  up  Meles 
III  as  one  of  the  last  few  "Heracleidae"  of  Nicolaus  and 
Herodotus. 

But,  as  the  course  of  this  investigation  will  show,  it  is  of 
great  importance  to  determine  whether  there  was  more  than 
one  person  named  Meles.  Now,  it  is  reasonable  to  assume 
that,  where  the  same  name  occurs  more  than  once  in  a  historical 
account,  the  same  person  is  indicated,  unless  the  names  are 
qualified  in  some  way  or  there  is  some  valid  reason  for  dis- 
tinguishing the  persons  referred  to.  Consequently,  it  is  proper 
to  investigate  all  reasons  which  can  be  adduced  for  distinguish- 
ing between  Meles  II  and  III.  If  these  reasons  are  not  suffi- 
cient, it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  both  the  passages  in 
Nicolaus  which  mention  Meles  refer  to  the  same  person. 

II.  i.  Possible  reasons  for  considering  Meles  II  and  III 
different  persons. 

a.  Some  have   considered  that  Moxos   was   the   successor 
of  Meles  II,  the  Tyrant,  since  he  drove  the  latter  out ;  whereas 
the  successor  of  Meles  III  is  not  Moxos,  but  Myrsos.    Clearly 
this  is  one  of  the  reasons  which  caused  Schubert11  to  separate 
Meles  II  and  III.     But  the  actual  text  does  not  warrant  us 
in  believing  that  Moxos  (Mopsos)12  was  a  king  at  all.     The 
words  used  in  referring  to  him  are  simply  ?Mo£os  6  AvSo's,  OVTOS 
6  avrip  ,13  and  wo  Mttyov  TOV  AvSot).14     Moxos  may  have  been 
only  a  general,  and  reasons  for  believing  that  he  was  so  will 
be  brought  forward  below,  pp.  46  ff.     If  so,  then  he  would 
not  be  the  successor  of  the  Meles  whom  he  drove  out. 

b.  In  Nicolaus  fr.  24  Meles  II  is  spoken  of  as  a    rvpavvos, 
and  is  driven  out;  while  in  fr.  49  Meles  is  called   f&uriA.evs, 
goes  voluntarily  into  exile  to  Babylon,  returns,  and  resumes 
his   throne.      Since   these   statements    differ,    it   looks    as    if 

11  Gesch.  d.  Kon.  v.  Lyd.  4,  5. 

12  These  are  doubtless  two  forms  of  the  same  name.    See  below,  p.  47. 
"Nicolaus  fr.  24;  FHG.  Ill,  371. 

"Xanthus  fr.  11;  FHG.  I,  38. 


MELES  23 

Nicolaus  must  have  believed  Meles  II  to  be  different  from 
Meles  III. 

But  these  two  stories,  however  different,  are  neither  con- 
tradictory nor  mutually  exclusive,  and  so  may  well  relate  to 
the  same  person.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  original  passage 
in  Nicolaus  from  which  (as  will  be  shown  later)  we  may 
believe  that  both  these  two  excerpts  were  taken,  gave  a  com- 
bined account  of  a  king  who  withdrew  from  his  kingdom, 
and  after  three  years  resumed  his  throne,  but  only  to  be 
expelled  permanently  a  little  later. 

c.  Meles  II  is  mentioned  in  fr.  24.  But  this  fragment,  in 
Nicolaus'  original  narrative,  certainly  preceded15  fr.  28,  which 
mentions  a  king  named  Kambles  (Kamblitas).  Schubert  there- 
fore concludes  that  the  chronological  position  of  Meles  II  in  the 
line  of  kings  must  have  been  before  Kambles.16  Further,  Schu- 
bert and  others  have  assumed  that  the  place  which  the  Kam- 
bles episode  occupied  in  Nicolaus'  narrative  is  to  be  determined 
by  the  position  of  Kambles  in  the  line  of  kings ;  and  that,  since 
Kambles'  name  does  not  appear  among  the  names  of  the 
Mermnadae,  the  last  dynasty  of  Lydian  kings,  nor  among  the 
last  four  or  five  Heracleidae,  who  immediately  preceded  the 
Mermnadae,  Kambles  must  have  preceded17  all  of  these.  Con- 
sequently it  would  seem  that  the  mention  of  Meles  II,  since  it 
preceded  the  mention  of  Kambles,  must  also  have  preceded 

15  See  outline  of  the  Exc.  de  Virt.,  given  above  p.   14 ;  see  also  the 
table  on  p.  20,   which  gives   Nicolaus'   "original   account"   of   Lydian 
history. 

16  Schubert  says  (Gesch.  d.  Kon.  v.  Lyd.  5)  "Die  Konige  Meles  und 
Moxos  hatte  Xanthus  sicher  friiher  angesetzt  als  den  Kambles,  da  sie 
in  dem  Excerpte  de  Virtutibus  an  einer  fruheren  stelle  erscheinen." 
And   we   have    seen    in   the    foregoing   pages   that   the   order   of   the 
excerpts   faithfully  represents  the  order  in  Nicolaus    (Xanthus). 

17  Our  traditional  accounts  of  the  Herakleid  dynasty  include  only  the 
last  four  or  five  kings  (mentioned  by  Nicolaus,  fr.  49.     See  summary 
PP-  33  #•)•     Beyond  these  is  only  the  legendary  Agron   (fifth  in  line 
from  Herakles)  whom  Herodotus  (I.  7)  calls  founder  of  this  dynasty. 
Schubert    (l.c)    places   Kambles  not  only  before   the  last   few   Hera- 
cleidae  but    also    before    the    entire    dynasty,    among    the    "Atyadae" 
who  according  to  Herodotus  preceded  the  Heracleidae.     His  reason 
for  doing  so  is  doubtless  based  on  a  passage  in  Miiller  (FHG.  Ill,  372, 
note  28.4)  which  is  in  substance  as  follows:   Kambles  (Nicolaus  fr.  28; 
see  summary  p.  35,  note  3)   thought  he  had  been  bewitched  when  he 


24  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

the  mention  of  the  last  few  Heracleidae.  If  this  were  true, 
then  Nicolaus  cannot  have  regarded  Meles  II  as  identical  with 
Meles  III,  whom  he  in  fr.  49  places  among  the  last  few 
Heracleidae. 

But,  in  the  first  place,  there  is  some  reason  to  believe  (as 
will  be  shown  later,  pp.  40  ff.)  that  Kambles  is  to  be  identified 
with  one  of  the  Mermnadae.  In  this  case  it  is  obvious  that 
Meles  II  might  come  before  Kambles  and  still  be  identical 
with  Meles  III. 

Secondly :  whether  Kambles  was  a  Mermnad  or  not,  in  any 
case  the  story18  about  him, — a  man  so  gluttonous  that  he  ate 
his  own  wife, — is  altogether  anecdotal  in  character,  and  of  a 
kind  likely  to  be  introduced  into  a  narrative  as  an  illustration 
of  some  topic  under  discussion.  Since  this  is  so,  then  the  posi- 
tion of  Kambles  in  a  chronological  list  of  the  kings  (even 
if  Kambles  were  a  very  early  king)  does  not  determine  the 
place  which  the  Kambles  story  occupied  in  Nicolaus'  narrative. 
Further,  we  have  also  another  example  of  a  statement  about 
a  Lydian  king  introduced  as  an  illustration  out  of  its  chrono- 
logical order,  in  the  account  of  another  king  given  by  Xanthus 
and  so  doubtless  by  Nicolaus.  Athenaeus  (XII.  n.  515. d) 
quoting  from  Xanthus19  book  II,  tells  us  that  the  Lydians 
were  so  given  to  luxury  that  they  even  practised  the  castration 
of  women,  and  that  Adramytes,  king  of  the  Lydians,  originated 
the  custom.  Hesychius  Milesius20  and  Suidas,21  however,  both 
giving  Xanthus  book  II  as  their  authority,  say  that  Gyges 
was  the  originator  of  this  practice,  his  purpose  being  to  keep 
the  women  fresh  and  young.  The  original  statement  in  Xan- 
thus was  doubtless  in  connection22  with  Gyges,  to  the  effect 
that  Gyges  like  Adramytes,  or  that  Adramytes  like  Gyges 
practised  the  custom. 

found  he  had  eaten  his  wife;  and  certain  Lydians  suspected  lardanos, 
because  of  his  enmity  to  Kambles.  And  Herodotus  (I.  7)  says  that 
Herakles  by  a  slave  girl  of  lardanos  became  the  progenitor  of  the 
Herakleid  dynasty. 

18  See  summary,  p.  35,  note  3. 

"Xanthus  fr.  19,  FHG.  I,  39. 

"Hesych.  Miles.  De  Viris  Illustribus,  (ed.  J.  Flach;  Teub.)  p.  40,  no. 
XLIX,  v.  EAitfoj. 

21  Suidas,  s.v.  S^foj. 

*"  For,  so  far  as  we  know,  Gyges  was  a  much  more  famous  king  than 
Adramytes,  of  whom  we  know  almost  nothing  beyond  this  fragmentary 


MELES  25 

But,  it  will  here  be  urged,  it  does  not  apparently  alter  the 
situation  even  if  it  be  granted  that  the  stiory  about  Kambles  was 
only  an  illustration  and  therefore  that  its  place  in  Nicolaus' 
narrative  was  not  determined  by  Kambles'  position  in  the  line 
of  kings.  Just  where  is  the  place  of  this  story  in  Nicolaus' 
work?  It  is  clear  that  fr.  24  (Meles  II)  and  fr.  28  (Kambles) 
are  closely  connected,  as  regards  their  position  in  Nico- 
laus' narrative ;  and  if  the  place  of  either  of  them  be  fixed,  it 
will  to  a  large  extent  determine  that  of  the  other.  But  there 
seems  to  be  no  suitable  connection  into  which  the  Kambles 
episode  would  fit,  in  the  course  of  the  passage  in  Nicolaus 
from  which  fr.  49  was  excerpted.  And  if  the  story  belongs 
before  fr.  49  in  Nicolaus'  original  narrative,  then  it  is  still 
true,  since  the  mention  of  Meles  II  preceded  that  of  Kam- 
bles, that  Meles  II  cannot  be  identical  with  Meles  III.  How- 
ever, no  reason  can  be  given  for  placing  fr.  28  preferably 
before  fr.  49,  and  it  is  a  priori  equally  possible  to  place  it 
after  fr.  49  instead  of  before  it.  Therefore  the  reason  just 
given  against  the  identification  of  Meles  II  and  III  is  not 
conclusive.  Furthermore,  the  next  few  pages  will  show  that 
fr.  24  may  very  reasonably  be  placed  in  the  course  of  the 
passage  in  Nicolaus  of  which  fr.  49  is  an  abridgment:  if  so, 
then  fr.  28  must  have  come  later  still. 

2.  There  seems  to  be  no  other  reason  to  distinguish  Meles  II 
from  Meles  III ;  and  since  the  reasons  already  stated  are  by  no 
means  conclusive,  it  is  proper  to  assume  that  the  Meles  of  f  r.  24 
and  the  Meles  of  fr.  49  are  the  same. 

Not  only  is  there  this  presumption  that  there  was  only  one 
person  named  Meles,  in  the  absence  of  any  valid  proof  to 
the  contrary,  but  any  other  view  involves  the  historian  in 
a  most  serious  difficulty.  It  may  be  seen  in  the  outlines  given 
above  (pp.  14,  15)  that  Exc.  de  Virt.  et  Vitiis  14  and  16  (con- 
cerning Meles  II  and  Moxos,  and  Kambles)  and  Exc.  de  Ins. 
14  and  15  (dealing  with  the  last  few  Heracleidae,  including 
Meles  III,  and  Gyges)  were  taken  from  the  same  general 

mention.  (It  will  be  shown  later,  pp.  42  ff.,  that  Adramytes  was 
possibly  one  of  Gyges'  successors.)  Perhaps  Athenaeus,  finding  the 
name  Adramytes  unfamiliar,  assumed  that  he  was  an  earlier  king  and 
therefore  assigned  to  him  the  first  practice  of  this  custom.  Xanthus' 
meaning  was  more  probably  that  given  by  the  other  two  writers  cited. 


26 


THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 


passage    concerning   Lydian   history,    contained    in    Nicolaus' 
book    IV.     Thus: 

EXC.   DE  VlRT. 


Exc.  DE  INS. 
14  and  15  (=  Nic.  fr.  49)  The 
kings    from   "Ardys"    I   to 
Gyges    inclusive,    including 
Meles  III. 


14  (—    Nic.    fr.    24)    Meles 

II,  Moxos 
16  (=  Nic.  fr.  28)  Kambles 

(Kamblitas) 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  two  fragments  dealing  with  a 
King  Meles  are  quoted  by  different  excerptors.  In  one  it 
is  said  that  Meles  was  deposed  from  his  tyranny,  that  in  his 
time  Lydia  was  visited  by  a  great  drought,  and  that  ot  avOpviroi 
f7rl  ijavTtia.v  KaT€<£evyov.  In  the  other  we  are  told  that  when 
Meles  was  king  Lydia  suffered  a  great  famine,  and  ot  dV0pa>7rot 
«7Tt  /AavTetas  erpdVovTo,  and  that  Meles  went  into  exile  at  Baby- 
lon for  three  years  but  afterwards  resumed  his  kingdom.  The 
full  text  of  the  passages  in  question  is  as  follows: 

Fr.  24  (Exc.  de  Virt.  14) : 

¥OTt  Mo£os  6  AvSos,  TroAAa  Kal 
KaAa  epyao-d/Aevos,  Kal  TOV  M^Arjv 
TT;S  TvpavvtSos  Ka0eAu>v,  Tots  AvSots 
TrapCKcAevo-aTO  TT)V  SeKoYvyv  aTroSot)- 
vat,  Ka^a  ^v^aTo,  TOIS  0eots.  Ot  8c 
CTret^ovTO,  Kat  aTraptfl/xovvTCS  Ta 

KTrJlACLTO.  (£flpOVV  TV)V  ScKClTryV  OLTTOV- 
TO)V.  Kttt  KCLTtOvOV.  '£K  TOVTOV 


Stav,  Kat  ot  avOpwiroi  (TTL 


Aeyerai  7re7rot^(r^at  OVTOS  6  dvr/p, 
Kat  ^v  avrot)  KXeos  /xeytcrrov  ev  Av- 
Sots  €7rt  TC  dvS/oeta  Kal  SiKatotrvvy. 
Tavra  8e  Trpa^a?  av^tf  CTTI  TI)V  Kpa- 
(3ov  €CTTaXr/,  Kat  iroXw  ^povov  avrrjv 
TToXtopKiycras  clAc  Kat  firopOrjcrt,  TOV? 
8«  dv^/od)7rovs  ets  T^V  TrAiyo-tbv  Xt/u,- 
VT;V  dyaywv  ota  dfleovs 


Fr.  49  (Exc.  de  Ins.   14)  : 

'ETTI  M^Aecu  8e  ^acrtAevovros  AvSaiv 
(r<f>68pa   €\LfJir]V€.  AvSta-    Kat   ot  dv- 

6p(D7TOl      €7Tt       /XaVT€taS       (rpOLT 

Tots  8'  €o-?7/Aaive  TO  8at/xovtov 
TrpaTTeaBaL  TOV  Aao~KvAov  <J>6vov 
-rrapa  TO>V  /Sao-iAtwi/.  Tavra  aKOV- 
o-a?  Tra/oa  TCOV  ^p^a/xoAoywv,  Kat 
ort  Set  <£evyovra  CTTI  y'  CTT;  Ka0r)pa- 
crOaL  TOV  <f>6vov,  €<f>vy€V  €^eAovo"t<os 
^ETre/xi^c  8«  Kat  cts 
Trapa  TOV  Aao'KvAov  Traloa, 
Kat  avrov  ovo/xa,  ovrtva 
tv  yacrrpt  e^ovcra  l<^vye, 
ets  ^SdpScts  d^tKvetcr^at  Kal 
StKas  Sc^ca^at  TOV  iraTpwov  <f>6vov 
Trap1  avTiov  OVTCOS  yotp 

Ot      )U,dvT€t5.         *O     8e      OVK 

Aeywv    /AT)    ewpaKevat   TOV   TraTepa* 
Kveto-^at  yap  €Tt  OTC  avrjprjTO-    OVK- 

OVV     7TpOO-TfJK€LV     aVTO)    TaVTa 

7rpayyw,oveiv. 


KdSvos,  ye'vos  ovTt  TO  dveKa^ev  aTro 
oo"Tts  <^>€vyovTa  €?rcTpo- 
Kat  KaTtdvTa  CK  Ba^SvAwvo? 
e^aTO  /ACTO,  Tpta  ITT;,  Kat  TT)V  /?aori- 
ActW  ot  aTTtS^Ke  7rto"T<I)s. 


MELES  27 

The  resemblance  pointed  out  between  these  two  fragments 
is  certainly  striking.  It  is  true  that  in  the  first  case  the 
famine  appears  to  have  occurred  after  Meles  was  driven  out. 
But  it  is  obvious  that  in  fr.  24  the  excerptor  has,  with 
carelessness  or  haste,  inserted  out  of  its  proper  place  the 
sentence  about  the  drought.  It  has  no  point  in  its  present 
position,  and  disturbs  the  narrative.  Moreover,  it  can  hardly 
belong  immediately  after  the  statement  that  Moxos  instituted 
the  custom  of  offering  tithes  to  the  gods.  It  is  more  probable 
that  the  custom  was  supposed  to  have  been  instituted  either  in 
thanksgiving  for  the  ending  of  the  drought,  or  to  prevent 
its  recurrence. 

It  is  also  true  that  in  the  first  case  Meles  is  represented  as 
driven  out  from  his  kingdom,  while  in  the  second  he  is  said 
to  have  gone  into  voluntary  and  temporary  exile.  But,  as 
already  noted  once  before,23  these  two  statements  may  well 
have  been  given  in  combination  by  Xanthus  (Nicolaus), 
and  were  doubtless  derived  from  different  versions  of  the 
same  story.  In  all  other  respects  the  accounts  of  Meles  in  the 
two  fragments  are  so  similar  that  they  can  hardly  be  thought 
to  have  been  told  of  different24  persons  of  the  same  name  in 
the  same  general  passage  of  Nicolaus.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  so  far  as  the  fragments  show,  Nicolaus  knew  but  one 
Meles,  and  gave  an  account  of  his  career  in  a  single  passage 

23  See  above,  p.  23. 

24  Yet   it   is  just  this   unsatisfactory  position   that   the   historian   is 
forced  to  accept  if  it  be  still  held  that  fr.  24   (Meles  II)   and  fr.  28 
(Kambles)  came  before  fr.  49  in  Nicolaus'  narrative.    In  that  case  the 
resemblances    noted   between   the    two    fragments    about    Meles   could 
be    explained   only   inadequately   and    unsatisfactorily   by    saying   that 
different  kings  in  a  dynasty  often  bore  the  same  name;  and  that,  as 
to  the  famine,  the  recurrence  of  the  event  would  be  sufficient  reason 
for   the   recurrence    of   the    appeal    to    the    oracle,    and    this    for    the 
recurrence    of   the    statement    in    the   traditional    accounts.      In    view 
of  the  fact  that,  between  the  two  stories  about  Meles,  such  similari- 
ties exist,  notwithstanding  that  the  two  fragments  come  to  us  through 
different  excerptors  each  writing  from  a  different  point  of  view,  the 
natural    and    reasonable    conclusion    is    that    given    in    the    discussion 
above.     And  it  is  easy  to  see  why  the  Excerptor  de  Virtutibus  should 
dwell  upon  Moxos  and  his  exploits  with  but  scant  mention  of  Meles, 
while,  vice  versa,  the  Excerptor  de  Insidiis   should   omit  Moxos  and 
give   at   some   length   that   part   of   Nicolaus'    account   which    showed 
Meles'  connection  with  the  wrongs  done  to  the  house  of  Daskylos. 


28  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

from  which  somewhat  different  details  were  selected  by  the 
two  excerptors. 

3.  The  position  of  fr.  28  (Kambles)  in  Nicolaus'  narrative 
may  now  easily  be  determined.    Fr.  24,  as  we  have  just  seen, 
must  have  belonged  to  precisely  the  same  passage  in  Nicolaus 
from  which  that  part  of  fr.  49  dealing  with  Meles  was  drawn. 
Fr.   28,   concerning   Kambles,   appeared   later25    in    Nicolaus' 
work  than  fr.  24.    But  since  f r.  28  was  still26  from  book  IV  of 
Nicolaus,  and  since  fr.  49  ends  with  Gyges  while  the  first 
fragment  from  book  VII  which  relates  to  Lydian  history  treats 
of  Gyges  again  and  his  passion27   for  a  male  favorite,  it  is 
evident  that  fr.  28  also  must  have  belonged  to  the  same  general 
passage  in  Nicolaus  as  fr.  49,  but  occurred  later  than  fr.  24 
and  probably  later  than  fr.  49  itself,  but  before  the  end  of 
the  account  of  Gyges.     Probably,  then,  the  story  of  Kambles' 
gluttony  was  used  as  an  illustration  of  a  similar  vice  practised 
by  Gyges.    Doubtless  the  same  is  true  (as  already  mentioned) 
of  the  story  concerning  the  castration  of  women  by  the  kings 
Adramytes29  and  Gyges. 

4.  There  remains  to  be  considered  how  much  of  historical 
fact  may  be  contained  in  Nicolaus'  account  of  Meles.    It  has 
already  been  suggested  that  there  were  two  versions  concern- 
ing Meles'  fall  which  were  combined  by  Xanthus  (Nicolaus), 
namely : 

25  Because,  in  the  Exc.  de  Virt.  (see  outline,  p.  14),  fr.  28  (=  Exc. 
de  Virt.  16)  follows  fr.  24  (  =  Exc.  de  Virt.  14)  ;  and  the  order  of  the 
Excerpta  faithfully  represents  the  order  in  Nicolaus. 

28  As  we  can  see  from  the  outlines  of  the  Excerpta  (I.e.)  ;  for  fr.  28 
belongs  to  the  earlier  section  of  Lydian  history  contained  in  Nicolaus' 
Universal  History,  whereas  the  consecutive  treatment  of  the  Merm- 
nadae  beginning  with  Gyges  belongs  to  Book  VII. 

27  See  summary  of  traditional  accounts,  p.  35. 

29  And   if,    as   already   suggested    (see    p.   24,   also   p.   25,   note   22) 
Adramytes  and  Kambles  were  both  among  the  Mermnadae,  then  their 
slightly  anticipated  mention  seems  still  more  appropriate  in  the  passage 
here  at  the  end  of  fr.  49.    See  below,  pp.  40-43. 


MELES  29 

A:  fr.  24.  B:   fr.  49. 

Meles  was  a  tyrant  and  was         a.  Meles  was  a  king, 
driven  out  by  Moxos.  b.  He    killed    Daskylos    I. 

(This  is  not  directly  stated  in 
any  extant  narrative,  but  it 
seems  to  be  implied30  by  the 
statement  that  he  made  expia- 
tion for  the  death  of  Dasky- 
los I.) 

c.  He  went  voluntarily  to 
Babylon,  an  exile  for  three 
years,  in  obedience  to  an 
oracle  which  prescribed  this 
form  of  expiation. 

The  second  version,  B,  may  be  considered  first. 

a.  It  is  not  probable  that  Meles  was  a  legitimate  king,  for 
(i).  there  is  no  place  for  him  in  the  royal  line.     Neither  a 
father    nor    a    son    is    mentioned    in    connection    with    him. 
(ii).  The  son  of  "Ardys"  I,  the  preceding  king,  is  Adyattes  II ; 
and   no   mention   is   made  of   any   relationship  between   this 
Adyattes  and  Meles. 

b.  That   Meles   killed   Daskylos   I   is   contradicted   by   the 
statement  made  in  the  same  narrative  (fr.  49)  that  Adyattes, 
son  of  King  "Ardys"  I,  killed  him. 

c.  That    Meles    went   voluntarily   into    exile   is    essentially 
improbable  and  legendary.     No  despot  ever  went  into  volun- 
tary exile  merely  on  account  of  an  oracle,  given  because  a  sub- 
ject had  been  put  to  death  by  another  person.     Nor  would 
a  tyrant  be  called  to  account  in  any  such  way  even  if  he  him- 
self had  killed  the  subject,  and  even  if  the  victim  was   a 
powerful  noble.    The  reckoning,  if  it  came  at  all,  would  come 
in  the  form  of  a  revolution. 

Version   B,   therefore,    appears   to   be   unhistorical,31   with 

^Radet,  La  Lydie,  78. 

81  Schubert's  comment  on  the  story  of  Meles'  voluntary  exile  seems 
well  grounded.  His  last  clause,  however,  is  rendered  untenable  by 
the  considerations  given  above  under  a  and  b.  He  says  (Gesch.  d. 
Kon.  v.  Lyd.  23)  "Als  unbedingt  wahr  festhalten  mochte  ich  nur  die 
Angabe,  dass  Meles  einmal  aus  seinem  Reiche  hat  fliehen  miissen,  und 
nach  dreijahriger  Abwesenheit  die  Regierung  aus  der  Hand  des 


3O  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

the  exception  that  Meles  may,  after  having  been  expelled 
from  his  tyranny  by  Moxos,  have  returned  from  Babylon  to 
seize  the  power  a  second  time,  like  Peisistratus,  only  to  be 
deposed  permanently  a  little  later.  It  is  quite  possible,  more- 
over, to  account  for  the  origin  of  this  version.  The  reference 
to  Meles  as  a  king  may  be  merely  a  loose  statement  that  he 
ruled  for  a  time  as  a  "tyrant"  or  usurper.  That  he  killed 
Daskylos  I  may  have  been  a  deliberate  falsehood  circulated 
later  to  shield  the  real  author  of  the  assassination.  That 
Meles'  absence  in  Babylon  was  voluntary  may  have  been 
suggested  in  support  of  this  falsehood,  in  order  that  this 
absence  might  seem  a  confession  of  guilt,  though  in  fact  the 
man  had  been  driven  out  by  his  political  opponents. 

Version  A  then  remains.32  It  is  perfectly  reasonable  and 
credible,  and  it  is  not  contradicted  by  any  other  statement. 
It  may  therefore  be  accepted,  tentatively  at  least,  as  fact. 

III.  Meles  of  the  Lion  (Meles  I)  has  already  been  men- 
tioned (p.  21 ),  and  may  now  be  considered  more  fully. 

i.  This  Meles  is  not  necessarily  to  be  regarded  as  the  founder 
of  Sardes ;  although  some  historians  have  so  represented  him. 
For  example,  Schubert33  says:  "Als  Griinder  der  Haupt- 
stadt  Sardes  hat  Herodot  I.  84  einen  Konig  Meles  genannt." 
But  Herodotus  does  not  say  this.  His  words  are :  aTroro/xos  re 
yap  cart  ravrrj  17  d/c/ooVoAis  /cat  a/xa^os-  rf)  ovSe  M 17X77?  6  Trporepov  fiacri- 
2$apSiW  fj^ovvYf  ov  7T€pir)veLK€.  TOV  Xeovra  TOV  ol  rj  TraXXaKr)  ITCKC, 
8iKacravT<ov  a>s  Treptevci^^evros  TOV  Ae'ovros  TO  TCI^CS  «TOVT<H 

dvaXwToi.  The  expression  6  -rrporepov  /Sao-iAevs  does  not 
mean  the  "first  king  of  Sardes",  but  rather  "the  man  who  was 
formerly  king".  And  Herodotus  does  not  even  say  that 

Sadyattes  wieder  zuruckempfing.  Die  Motivirung  der  Flucht  ist  natiir- 
lich  fabelhaft,  aber  trotzdem  schimmert  in  derselben  wohl  noch 
durch,  dass  Rache  der  Mermnaden  fiir  den  Tod  des  Daskylos  dabei  die 
eigentliche  Veranlassung  war." 

**  Since  Meles  was  a  tyrant  and  usurper,  he  might  perhaps  (for  this 
reason  among  others)  be  identified  with  Spermos.  See  summary  of 
traditional  accounts,  p.  33.  However,  it  is  quite  possible  that,  in  a 
long  reign  like  that  of  "Ardys"  I,  there  were  two  usurpers,  one  of 
whom  (Spermos)  was  beheaded  or  otherwise  done  to  death,  and  the 
other  driven  out  by  Moxos. 

13  Gesch.  d.  Kon.  v.  Lyd,,  3.  Schubert  here  bases  his  statement  on 
that  of  Duncker.  See  p.  31,  note  35. 


MELES  31 

Meles  fortified  the  acropolis  much  less  that  he  was  its  founder. 
His  meaning  may  be  simply  this:  that  Meles  carried  the  lion 
round  walls  built  by  his  predecessors.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
passage  from  Herodotus  which  could  constitute  a  reason  against 
the  view  that  this  Meles  was  a  comparatively  late  king  of 
Lydia. 

2.  This  Meles  of  the  Lion  has  been  identified  with  Meles  III 
by   Miiller.34     Duncker33   and   Schubert,36   however,   identify 
Meles  I  with   Meles   II.     Both  of   these  identifications   are 
reasonable  enough.    But  the  preceding  pages  have  shown  that 
Meles  II  and  Meles  III  are  to  be  identified.    It  appears,  there- 
fore, that  Meles  I,  II,  and  III  were  all  the  same  person. 

3.  The  story  about  Meles  and  the  Lion  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  account  of  Meles  given  by  Nicolaus  in  fragments  24 
and  49.     But  it  is  plainly  anecdotal  in  character.     However, 
it  doubtless  had  some  foundation  in  legend  or  perhaps  in  fact. 
That  is,  the  story  may  have  been  only  a  folk-tale  which  was 
fastened  upon  Meles;  or,  there  may  have  been  a  religious 
ceremony  performed  at  stated  intervals  at  Sardes,  having  its 
origin  in  some  primitive  ceremony,  a  procession  for  the  conse- 
cration and  protection37  of  the  city,  something  perhaps  like 
the  Lupercalia  at  Rome.    With  this  ceremony  Meles  may  have 
been  associated,  in  popular  belief,  as  its  founder.38 

IV.     The  entire  preceding  discussion  concerning  Meles  may 
be  summarized  as  follows:     There  was  only  one  historical 

**FHG.  Ill,  371,  footnote  on  fr.  24.     So  also  Turner,  Notes  on  He- 
rodotus (1882),  40. 
**  Gesch.  d.  Alt.  (5'  Aufl.  1878)  vol.  I,  479,  note  i. 

86  Gesch.  d.  Kon.  v.  Lyd.,  4 :  "Duncker  hat  diesen  Meles  (II)  mit  dem 
soeben  erwahnten  Grunder  von  Sardes  identificirt,  wird  sich  dabei  aber 
auch   gewiss   klar   gemacht   haben   dass    dieses   bei    dem   wiederholten 
Auftreten  des  Namens  Meles  in  der  lydischen  Geschichte  keineswegs 
sicher  ist."     But  since  Schubert   (I.e.)  discusses  Meles  II  only  in  con- 
nection with  Meles  I    (among  the  "Atyadae";   see  above,  p.  22),  he 
doubtless  accepts,  though  less  confidently,  Duncker's  identification. 

87  Schubert,  Gesch.  d.  Kftn.  v.  Lyd.,  4. 

88  Or  perhaps,  on  one  of  the  occasions  of  the  ceremony  mentioned, 
Meles  may  have  failed  to  carry  out  the  directions  of  the  oracle  at 
Telmessos  regarding  some  point  in  the  ritual  to  be  observed.     It  is 
quite  possible  that  the  oracle  mentioned  in  the  fragments  from  Nico- 
laus about  Meles  was  this  same  oracle  at  Telmessos.     See  Radet,  La 
Lydie,  138,  and  note  3. 


32  THE    KINGS   OF    LYDIA 

Meles,  and  the  facts  about  him  appear  to  be  these :  He  was  a 
usurper,  probably  toward  the  end  of  the  reign  of  "Ardys"  I, 
and  was  driven  out  by  Moxos,  supposedly  to  Babylon.  He 
appears  to  have  returned  again  to  power,  only  to  be  expelled 
permanently.  And  a  report  was  circulated  that  he  was  re- 
sponsible for  the  assassination  of  Daskylos  I. 

With  this  as  our  starting  point,  we  are  now  in  a  position 
to  take  up  a  more  comprehensive  treatment  of  our  ancient 
sources. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  HERAKLEID  AND  MERMNAD  DYNASTIES  OF  LYDIA 

I.  Summary  of  the  traditional  accounts  given  by  Nicolaus, 
Herodotus,  and  the  chronographers. 

i.  Nicolaus  (Miiller,  FHG.  Ill,  371  if.)- 

Frag.  49  :  ADYATTES,  king  of  the  Lydians,  left  his  kingdom 
to  his  twin  sons,  KADYS  and  ARDYS. 

DAMONNO,  wife  of  Kadys,  together  with  her  paramour 
SPERMOS,  cousin  of  Kadys,  tried  to  poison  Kadys.  The  effort 
failed,  but  later  Kadys  died.  Damonno  and  Spermos  now  drove 
out  Ardys,  and  seized  the  kingdom. 

Ardys  escaped  to  Kyme.  Spermos  sent  a  robber,  Kerses,  to 
kill  Ardys,  and  promised  him  his  daughter  in  marriage,  as  a 
reward.  By  arrangement  with  Ardys,  Kerses  returned  and 
beheaded  Spermos.  His  death  caused  no  sorrow  or  disturb- 
ance, for  he  was  a  wicked  man  ;  and  among  other  misfortunes 
there  was  a  severe  drought1  while  he  was  king.  He  reigned 
for  two  years,  but  his  name  is  not  written  down  ev  rots  paat- 


Ardys  was  now  recalled  from  Kyme,  by  messengers  from 
the  Lydians,  among  the  messengers  being  some  of  the  "Hera- 
cleidae".  He  reigned  best  of  all  the  Lydian  kings, 
after  ALKIMIOS,  and  he  was  beloved  and  just.  He  numbered 
the  army  of  the  Lydians:  this  consisted  mostly  of  cavalry, 
of  which  there  were  30,000.  In  his  old  age,  DASKYLOS,  son  of 
GYGES  of  the  Mermnad  family,  became  his  favorite  and  gradu- 
ally obtained  complete  control  of  the  government.  The  prince 
ADYATTES,  son  of  Ardys,  secretly  killed  Daskylos,  fearing  that 
on  the  death  of  the  king  the  powerful  favorite  might  seize 
the  throne.  King  Ardys  was  filled  with  grief,  cursed  the 
murderers,  and  gave  any  one  who  found  them  permission  to 
kill  them.  He  died  after  a  reign  of  70  years. 

When  MELES  was  king  of  the  Lydians,  there  was  a  great 
famine  in  the  land,  and  the  people  betook2  themselves  to  divina- 


may   perhaps   mean   "the   land    was    in    squalid,   miserable 
condition". 

a  Nicolaus  f  r.  24,  concerning  Meles  the  usurper  driven  out  by  Moxos, 
should  be  placed  here.     Reasons  for  doing  so  have  been  given  in  the 

33 


34  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

tion.  The  god  instructed  them  to  exact  penalty  for  the  death 
of  Daskylos  from  the  king's  house.  So  Meles  withdrew  to 
Babylon  in  voluntary  exile  for  three  years,  to  expiate  the  mur- 
der. Meanwhile  he  invited  to  Sardes  young  DASKYLOS,  son  of 
the  murdered  Daskylos,  whose  mother  had  fled  with  him  to 
Phrygia.  The  youth,  however,  declined  to  come.  Meles,  on 
his  retirement,  entrusted  his  kingdom  to  SADYATTES,  son  of 
KADYS,  whose  remote  ancestor  was  TYLON.  This  regent  faith- 
fully restored  the  kingdom  on  Meles'  return  from  Babylon 
after  three  years. 

In  the  reign  of  MYRSOS,  Daskylos,  the  son  of  Daskylos  who 
was  murdered  by  Sadyattes,  in  fear  lest  he  should  draw  upon 
himself  the  plots  of  the  Heracleidae,  fled  from  Phrygia  to  the 
Syrians  of  Pontus,  beyond  Sinope.  There  he  married  a  native 
woman  and  by  her  had  a  son,  GYGES. 

SADYATTES,  the  last  king  of  the  Lydians,  was  overthrown 
as  follows.  There  was  at  Sardes  a  certain  ARDYS,  son  of 
Gyges,  and  uncle  of  the  Daskylos  who  went  to  Pontus.  Now, 
Ardys  had  no  children,  so  he  asked  the  king's  permission  to 
bring  Daskylos  back  from  Pontus  and  adopt  him.  It  was 
reasonable,  he  said,  to  be  reconciled  with  the  DASKYLIOI,  since 
the  king's  ancestors  ( TrpoTraropes  )  had  already  recalled  them 
to  Lydia  from  exile.  Ardys'  request  was  granted.  But 
Daskylos  liked  his  new  home,  and  refused  to  come,  so  he  sent 
instead  his  son  Gyges,  a  youth  of  eighteen. 

Gyges,  a  fine  young  man,  attracted  the  king's  notice  and 
was  made  one  of  the  royal  spear-bearers.  The  king,  after  a 
time,  suspected  the  honor  of  the  young  man,  and  purposely 
assigned  him  dangerous  tasks  in  order  to  get  rid  of  him  with- 
out openly  putting  him  to  death.  Gyges  accomplished  all  these 
tasks  by  his  strength.  The  king  now  loved  him,  and  honored 
him  above  all  others ;  but  this  royal  favor  attracted  the  jealousy 
of  many,  especially  of  Lixos,  of  the  Tylonian  family. 

Gyges,  sent  by  the  king  to  bring  home  Toudo  (a  Mysian 
princess  whom  King  Sadyattes  was  to  marry),  fell  in  love 
with  her,  lost  control  of  himself,  and  tried  unsuccessfully 
to  win  her  favors.  Later,  to  escape  the  royal  vengeance,  he 
together  with  some  of  his  friends  broke  into  the  royal  bed- 
preceding  chapter,  and  the  full  text  of  the  fragment  is  given  on  p.  26. 
For  MOPSOS,  ASKALOS,  and  AKIAMOS,  see  below,  notes  29  and  32. 


THE    HERAKLEID   AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  35 

chamber  and  killed  the  king,  who  had  reigned  three  years.  Then 
Gyges  took  possession  of  the  woman  and  of  the  kingdom. 
Some  of  his  enemies  he  killed,  others  he  won  over  by  gifts. 
Toward  Lixos,  however,  he  showed  great  animosity;  but  he 
was  finally  reconciled  to  him  after  the  latter's  bold  reply  to 
him  at  a  banquet.3 

Fr.  62.  In  Nicolaus'  account  of  the  Mermnadae,  Gyges  of 
course  conies  first.  Fr.  62  tells  us  of  his  passion  for  his  hand- 
some favorite  Magnes,  who  was  a  poet  and  a  musician.  Be- 
cause of  insults  offered  to  this  person  by  the  people  of  Mag- 
nesia, Gyges  invaded  their  territory  and  captured  their  city. 

Fr.  63.  Next  comes  SADYATTES,*  king  of  the  Lydians,  son  of 
ALYATTES.  He  was  brave  in  war,  but  in  other  matters  lacked 
self-control.  He  violated  his  own  sister  and  then  married  her. 
She  had  been  married  to  MILETOS,  descendant  of  MELAS,  son- 
in-law  of  Gyges.  Sadyattes  also  married  two  other  women, 
sisters  of  each  other,  and  by  them  had  two  natural  sons, 
Attales  by  one,  and  ADRAMYS  by  the  other.  By  his  own  sister 
he  had  a  legitimate  son,  ALYATTES. 

Fr.  64.  This  Alyattes,  son  of  Sadyattes,  was  violent  and 
uncontrolled  in  youth,  but  just  and  temperate  in  later  life. 

Fr.  65.  CROESUS,  son  of  Alyattes,  in  his  youth  was  dissolute 
and  lacked  force,  but  was  one  of  the  generals  in  his  father's 
army,  and  was  placed  in  command  of  the  town  Adramyttium. 
To  raise  funds  for  his  quota  of  troops,  he  tried  to  borrow 
from  Sadyattes?  a  wealthy  Lydian  merchant,  but  was  refused. 

*Here  should  be  placed  the  fragments  concerning  KAMBLES  (see 
above,  p.  28).  Xanthus  (fr.  12)  says  that  Kambles,  king  of  the  Lydi- 
ans, was  such  a  glutton  that  one  night  he  tore  in  pieces  and  devoured 
his  own  wife.  Early  next  morning  he  found  his  wife's  hand  in  his 
mouth.  The  matter  was  noised  abroad,  and  so  he  slew  himself. 
Nicolaus  (fr.  28)  gives  almost  the  same  story,  with  a  few  additional 
details,  calling  the  king  KAMBLITAS,  and  adding  that  lardanos  was 
suspected  by  the  Lydians  of  having  bewitched  the  king. 

Here  also  should  be  placed  (see  above,  pp.  24,  28)  Xanthus  fr.  19, 
dealing  with  the  castration  of  women,  a  luxurious  vice  practised  by 
Gyges  and  ADRAMYTES,  kings  of  Lydia. 

*  Suidas  (s.v. 'AXuifTTTjs)  gives  in  briefer  form  the  same  information 
found  in  Nicolaus  fr.  63;  but  both  Suidas  and  Xenophilus  (FHG.  IV, 
530)  call  this  king  Alyattes,  not  Sadyattes. 

0  Suidas  (s.v.  Kpooros  )  gives  exactly  the  same  fragment,  but  calls  the 
miserly  merchant  Alyattes,  not  Sadyattes. 


\lyattes,  not  sady 


36  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

Fr.  68  describes  Croesus  on  the  funeral  pyre  (fragments  66 
and  67  are  an  excursus  on  Cyrus  of  Persia). 

2.  Herodotus'  account  of  early  Lydian  kings : 

I.  7-13:  Those  who  ruled  over  this  country  (Lydia)  before 
Agron  were  descendants  of  Lydus,  son  of  Atys,  from  whom 
this  whole  people,  formerly  called  Maionian,  received  the 
name  Lydian. 

The  Heracleidae  were  descended  from  HERAKLES  and  a 
female  slave  of  lardanos,  in  regular  order,  thus:  ALKAIOS, 
BELOS,  NINOS,  AGRON  the  first  of  the  Heracleidae  who  became 
king  of  Sardes.  The  Heracleidae  reigned  for  22  generations, 
a  period  of  505  years,  the  son  succeeding  the  father,  down 
to  the  time  of  KANDAULES  (called  by  the  Greeks  "MYRSILOS") 
son  of  MYRSOS.  Kandaules  was  the  last  of  this  dynasty,  and 
was  overthrown  and  killed  by  Gyges,  son  of  Daskylos,  of  the 
family  of  the  Mermnadae. 

Herodotus'  account  of  the  Mermnadae  is  as  follows : 

GYGES  (I.  14).  Warred  against  Miletos  and  Smyrna  and 
captured  Colophon.  Sent  gold  and  silver  offerings  to  Delphi : 
the  oracle  had  confirmed  him  in  the  royal  power  when  appeal 
was  made  to  it  by  the  Lydians.  The  Delphians  called  these 
offerings  TvydBas  after  the  dedicator.  Reign,  38  years. 

ARDYS  (I.  15,  16).  Son  and  successor  of  Gyges.  Warred 
against  Miletos  and  captured  Priene.  Kimmerians  invaded 
Asia  Minor  and  captured  Sardes  excepting  the  acropolis. 
Reign,  49  years. 

SADYATTES  (I.  16,  18).  Son  and  successor  of  Ardys. 
Warred  with  Miletos.  Reign,  12  years. 

ALYATTES  (I.  16,  18,  25,  73,  74).  Son  and  successor  of 
Sadyattes.  Warred  with  Kyaxares  and  the  Medes,  for  5 
years ;  eclipse  of  sun ;  made  peace  and  formed  matrimonial 
alliance  with  Kyaxares.  Drove  Kimmerians  out  of  Asia ;  took 
Smyrna;  was  defeated  at  Clazomenae;  warred  with  Miletos; 
made  friendly  alliance  with  Miletos.  Reign,  57  years. 

CROESUS  (I.  26-56,  69-81,  83-92,  153-156;  III.  14,  34).  Son 
and  successor  of  Alyattes.  Warred  against  Ephesus.  Ionian 
and  Aeolian  cities  made  tributary.  Planned  to  attack  islands, 
formed  alliance  with  them  instead.  Empire  extended  over 
almost  all  of  western  Asia  Minor.  Solon  at  the  court  of 
Croesus.  Adrastos  the  Phrygian  accidently  killed  Atys,  son 


THE    HERAKLEID   AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  37 

of  Croesus;  slew  himself  in  remorse,  over  the  tomb  of  Atys. 
Magnificent  gifts  sent  to  Delphic  oracle.  Alliance  with  Sparta. 
Warred  with  Cyrus;  crossed  Halys  and  ravaged  territory 
round  Pteria,  until  checked  by  Cyrus.  Besieged  in  Sardes  and 
captured  by  Cyrus.  Croesus  on  the  funeral  pyre.  Taken 
away  to  Persia  by  Cyrus.  Accompanied  Kambyses  to  Egypt. 

3.  The  chronographers'  lists  of  the  Lydian  kings. 
These  lists  are  all  of  one  type.6     Those  of  Eusebius7  and 
Julius  Africanus8  are  here  taken  as  the  norm. 

]i^y<ift~es   ~sr*>r"i>s 

ARDYS,  son  of  Alyattes9 36  years 

2.  ALYATTES 14     " 

3.  MELES   12      " 

4.  KANDAULES   17     " 

5-  GYGES 36     " 

6.  ARDYS 38  " 

7.  SADYATTES  15  " 

8.  ALYATTES 49  " 

9.  CROESUS 15  " 


232 

"  Schubert,  Gesch.  d.  Kon.  v.  Lyd.,  16,  17. 

T  Schoene-Petermann's  edition  of  Eusebius  Chron.,  vol.  II,  pp.  76-94, 
96;  (=  Syncellus  455.  6-15,  ed.  Dindorf,  in  Corp.  scr.  hist.  Byz.,  Bonn.). 

*  Schoene-Petermann,  op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  Appendix  VI,  p.  220,  section  44.  b. 

'  Here  the  father  of  the  first  king  in  this  list  is  called  Alyattes, 
while  Nicolaus  fr.  49  calls  him  Adyattes.  In  the  different  chrono- 
graphers' lists  may  be  found  many  variations  in  the  spelling  (v.  1.)  of 
the  names  of  the  individual  kings  given  in  the  list  above. 


CONSPECTUS 


fr 

ail! 


-I 


•H 


LOS, 
king 


of  the  lion 
rod.  I.  84) 


=  ol 

l^"5 

Jli 


tit* 

f2 
I 


il 


of  king 
killed  him 


y 

pi 
J-- 


11 

I* 

11 
i 


z 


11 


THE    HERAKLEID    AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  3Q 

II.  Discussion  of  certain  details  in  the  traditional  accounts. 

i.  When  the  accounts  of  our  various  ancient  authors  are 
synthesized  as  is  done  in  the  foregoing  genealogical  conspec- 
tus, it  becomes  apparent  that  there  is  much  confusion  in  regard 
to  the  names  Sadyattes,  Adyattes,  and  Alyattes.  For  example, 
Adyattes  I  (Nicolaus)  is  Alyattes  for  the  chronographers. 
The  third  Mermnad  king  is  Sadyattes  for  Nicolaus,  Herodotus, 
and  the  chronographers,  but  Alyattes  for  Suidas  and  Xeno- 
philus.  Adyattes  II  (Nicolaus)  is  Alyattes  for  the  chrono- 
graphers. The  miserly  merchant  is  Sadyattes  for  Nicolaus 
(fr.  65),  but  Alyattes  for  Suidas. 

It  seems  evident  that  the  three  names  in  question  are  varying 
forms  of  the  same  name.10  But  the  fact  that  we  find  this 
name  (in  some  one  of  its  forms)  used  so  many  times  in  each 
of  the  two  dynasties,  is  also  significant.  Further,  in  the  tradi- 
tional accounts  there  are  some  apparent  contradictions  which 
involve  this  name: 

a.  The  son  of  "Ardys"  I  is  called  Adyattes  by  Nicolaus, 
and  Alyattes  by  the  chronographers.     But  it  will  be  shown 
below    (p.  44)    that   Myrsos  was  in  all  probability  this   son 
of  "Ardys"  I. 

b.  The  king  after  Myrsos,  i.e.,  the  last  king  of  the  Hera- 
cleidae,  killed  by  Gyges  II,  is  said  by  Nicolaus  to  have  been 
Sadyattes;  but  Herodotus  and  the  chronographers  call  him 
Kandaules,  and  Herodotus  adds  still  another  name  by  which 
he  was  known  among  the  Greeks,  Myrsilos. 

c.  The  son  of  Gyges  II  appears  to  be  Alyattes  for  Nicolaus ; 
while  Herodotus  and  the  chronographers  call  him  Ardys.11 

"  Radet,  La  Lydie,  77,  78. 

11  Schubert  (Gesch.  d.  Kon.  v.  Lyd.,  40)  finds  no  explanation  at  all 
for  the  seeming  contradiction  in  the  name  of  this  king  as  given  in  the 
different  ancient  authorities. 

Radet  (I.e.)  says  that  the  Assurbanipal  inscription  also  calls  this 
king  "Ardys".  The  name  in  the  Assurbanipal  inscription,  however,  is 
restored  in  a  lacuna.  See  Gelzer,  Rhein.  Mus.  xxx  (1875),  234  and  note. 
Text  of  the  inscription  in  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia, 
vol.  Ill,  pi.  19,  col.  iii,  line  36,  showing  lacuna.  Another  inscription  of 
Assurbanipal,  almost  word  for  word  the  same,  but  without  lacuna  (op. 
cit.,  vol.  V,  pi.  2,  col.  ii,  line  120)  reads  plainly:  "After  him  his  son 
sat  upon  his  throne";  whereas  the  former  reads  "...  him  (-shu  in 
Assyrian)  his  son  ...  his  throne".  Radet  appears  to  have  accepted 
the  sign  -shu,  meaning  "him",  as  the  last  syllable  of  the  name  "Ardys", 


4O  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

Either  we  have  here  inexplicable  contradictions,  or,  in  view 
of  its  frequent  use  in  the  two  dynasties,  we  should  conclude 
either  that  Adyattes  (or  Sadyattes,  or  Alyattes)  was  a  name 
common  in  the  family  of  these  kings  and  often  borne  in 
addition  to  some  other  proper  name,  or  else  that  this  name 
was  merely  a  title12  and  was  borne  by  every  king  of  Lydia. 
These  explanations  are  supported  by  the  fact  that  each  of  the 
three  kings  mentioned  under  a,  b,  and  c  above  has  this  same 
additional  name  or  title,  while  the  proper  or  individual  names 
respectively  were  Myrsos,  Kandaules,13  and  Ardys.  For 
Adyattes  I  we  have,  so  far,  only  the  'title'  and  not  a  proper 
name.  The  same  may  be  true  of  the  third  and  fourth  Mermna- 
dae;  but,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  next  two  sections,  indi- 
vidual names  may  be  found  for  these  two  rulers  as  well  as 
their  'titles'. 

2.  Kambles  (  ?)  =  Sadyattes,  the  3rd  Mermnad  king. 

In  Nicolaus  fr.  28  we  are  told  of  a  king  Kamblitas  who 
pushed  luxury  and  gluttony  to  such  an  extreme  that  he  ate 
his  own  wife  in  his  sleep.  The  same  story  is  given  in  Xan- 
thus  fr.  12,  only  the  king  is  called  Kambles.  Aelian  (Varia 
Hist.  I.  27)  in  giving  instances  of  gluttony  mentions  Kambes 
the  Lydian.  Eustathius14  tells  the  same  story  of  wife-eating, 
and  clearly  uses  Xanthus  as  his  source;  but  he  calls  the 
king  Kambysis.  These  four  names,  then,  Kamblitas,  Kambles, 
Kambes,  and  Kambysis,  were  evidently  used  for  the  same 
person. 

Now,  Kambyses,  son  of  Cyrus  of  Persia  (Herod.  III.  1-30 
ff.),  was  said  to  be  a  passionate,  dissolute,  intemperate  man. 
Many  stories  of  self-indulgence  and  cruelty  are  attached  to 
him,  some  of  which  he  may  not  have  deserved.  Among  other 

which  he  would  probably  have  read  "Aidushu"  or  "Ardishu",  a  form 
involving  a  restoration  for  which  the  lacuna  seems  too  small.  Winckler, 
History  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  (1907),  276,  says:  "His  (Gyges') 
son  is  unnamed  by  Assurbanipal,  but  is  called  Ardys  by  Herodotus." 
See  also  E.  Schrader,  Keilinschr.  Bibl.  (1890)  II,  176. 

ia This  explanation  has  already  been  suggested  by  Radet  (I.e.). 

18  Schubert's  explanation  (Gesch.  d.  Kon.  v.  Lyd.  31)  that  Kandaules 
was  the  brother  and  successor  of  Sadyattes  seems  inadequate. 

"Com.  ad  Odyss.  IX.  vers.  310  (p.  1630  Rom.).  Eustathius,  seeing  in 
his  source  what  may  have  been  to  him  the  unfamiliar  name  Kambes  or 
Kambles,  perhaps  decided  that  it  should  be  Kambyses,  which  he  knew 
well  since  it  was  the  name  of  the  notorious  son  of  Cyrus. 


THE    HERAKLEID    AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  4! 

things,  he  is  said  (Herod.  III.  31,  32)  to  have  insisted  upon 
marrying  his  own  sister,  and  after  her  another  sister ;  and  the 
younger  woman  died  as  the  result  of  his  cruelty  and  abuse. 

In  Nicolaus  fr.  63  it  is  said  that  Sadyattes,  the  third  Merm- 
nad  king,  was  passionate  and  intemperate,  and  that  he  de- 
bauched and  married  one  of  his  sisters,  and  also  married  two 
other  women,  sisters. 

The  similarity  between  these  stories  about  wife-abuse  may 
of  course  be  due  to  the  possible  fact  that  both  the  two  kings 
actually  practised  such  things,  and  hence  a  similar  story  arose 
about  each.  But  about  no  other  two  kings  in  antiquity  do  we 
have  just  this  story  told  in  terms  so  similar.  It  is  therefore 
reasonable  to  conclude  that  it  is  perhaps  the  same  story  told 
of  two  different  persons,  or  rather  transferred  from  one  to 
the  other.  Probably  the  story  was  told  originally  about  the 
Lydian,  and  was  then  applied  to  the  Persian.  Such  a  trans- 
ference would  be  most  likely  to  occur  if  the  two  kings  had 
the  same  or  a  similar  name,  Kambes  or  Kambyses.  Quite 
possibly,  therefore,  Sadyattes  the  third  Mermnad  king  (Nico- 
laus fr.  63)  had  also  the  individual  name  Kambes  or  Kambles, 
the  same  name  as  that  of  the  gluttonous  Lydian  king  men- 
tioned in  Nicolaus  fr.  28. 

We  have  seen  in  Chapter  II  (p.  28)  that  fr.  28  comes  close 
to  and  probably  after  fr.  49,  at  the  end  of  Nicolaus*  treatment 
of  Lydian  history  in  book  IV.  Fr.  63,  concerning  Sadyattes 
the  third  Mermnad,  does  not  come  until  Nicolaus'  book  VII 
(see  outline,  p.  14),  where  he  returns  to  Lydian  history.  But 
Nicolaus'  authority,  Xanthus,  wrote  not  a  Universal  History 
but  Lydiaca,16  which  would  of  course  be  in  continuous  form. 
In  this  work,  therefore,  Kambles  the  glutton  and  Sadyattes 
were  doubtless  mentioned  within,  comparatively  speaking,  a 
few  pages  of  each  other,  and  perhaps  in  the  same  passage.  It 
thus  seems  quite  possible  that  the  two  were  the  same  person. 

There  is  perhaps  an  objection  to  the  identification  proposed 
above,  in  the  mention  of  lardanos  by  Nicolaus  (fr.  28:  see  p. 
24,  note  17;  see  also  summary,  p.  35,  note  3).  If  Xanthus 
identified  this  lardanos  (who  was  suspected  by  some  of  the 
Lydians  as  having  bewitched  Kambles  into  eating  his  own 
wife)  with  the  lardanos  mentioned  by  Herodotus  (I.  7)  as 

M  Suidas,  s.v.  Sdi/0os. 


42  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

master  of  the  slave  girl  by  whom  Herakles  became  progenitor 
of  the  Herakleid  dynasty,  then  Xanthus  must  have  regarded 
Kambles  as  a  very  early  king  indeed.  But  there  is  no  evi- 
dence, beyond  the  name,  for  the  identification  of  these  two 
persons.  It  is  quite  possible  that  tradition  knew  a  later 
lardanos,  who  lived  in  the  time  of  the  third  Mermnad  king. 

3.  Adramytes=Adramys:=H€rmon(  ?)==  Alyattes,  father  of 
Croesus. 

It  has  been  shown  above  (p.  24)  that  a  king  Adramytes  is 
mentioned  in  Xanthus  fr.  19  as  having  followed  a  vicious 
practice  known  among  the  Lydian  kings,  i.e.,  the  castration  of 
women.  It  has  also  been  shown  (p.  28)  that  this  story,  like 
the  Kambles  episode,  probably  entered  as  an  illustration  into 
the  general  discussion  of  the  luxuries  and  vices  of  Gyges,  just 
after  Nicolaus  fr.  49. 

According  to  Nicolaus  fr.  63  (see  summary,  p.  35),  one  of 
the  natural  sons  of  Sadyattes  the  third  Mermnad  is  called 
Adramys,  and  this  name  is  evidently  only  a  variant  form  of 
Adramytes.  Compare  Kambles  and  Kamblitas.  Steph.  Byz. 
moreover  (s.  v.  'ASpa/Avrreiov)  writes  as  follows  :  (17  TrdAi?) 

a7ro  'ASpa/xvrov   KTio-rov,  TratSos   ju,€v  'AAuarov,  Kpotorov   Se 

cv  TroAiTCtais  KCU  aXXoi.      rives  8e  O.TTO  "Epjuwvos  TOV  AvSwv 
TOV  yap  "Ep/Awra  AvSot^ASpa/xw  Ka\ov<ri  O/ovytcrri.       From 

this  passage  it  appears  that  there  was  a  Lydian  king  Adramys, 
called  by  some  Herman,  and  that  he  was  associated  with  the 
city  Adramyttium,  as  was  also  a  person  of  the  royal  line 
called  Adramytes,  son  of  (King)  Alyattes.  But  it  has  been 
shown  above  (p.  39)  that  Alyattes  and  Sadyattes  are  doubtless 
forms  of  the  same  name.  It  seems  reasonable,  therefore,  to 
believe  that  Adramytes  son  of  Alyattes  was  the  same  person  as 
Adramys  son  of  Sadyattes,  the  third  Mermnad,  and  that  hie 
became  king  and  was  known  by  the  Greeks  as  Herman.  He 
would  thus  be  the  fourth  Mermnad  king,  known  usually  as 
Alyattes  (father  of  Croesus).  Further,  in  Nicolaus  fr.  65 
we  see  that  Alyattes  places  his  son  Croesus  in  command  of 
the  city  Adramyttium.  It  may  well  be  that  Alyattes,  during 
his  wars,  founded  or  rebuilt16  or  colonized  this  city  which  had 

"The  Scholiast  on  Homer  II.  VI.  397  (scholia  Townl.,  ed.  Maass, 
vol.  I  =  vol.  V.  of  Dindorf  series  [1888,  Oxon.],  p.  224)  tells  us  that  a 
Pelasgian  Adramys  of  the  time  of  Herakles  founded  the  city. 


THE    HERAKLEID   AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  43 

such  a  strategic  position,  and  named  it  after  his  own  name 
"Adramys".  Nothing  would  then  be  more  natural  than  that 
he  should  place  his  son  in  charge  of  it. 

To  the  identification  suggested  above  there  are  the  following 
objections  possible: 

a.  Xicolaus  (fr.  63)  says  that  Adramys  was  only  a  "natural" 
son  of  Sadyattes  the  third  Mermnad,  and  expressly  distin- 
guishes him  from  Alyattes  (father  of  Croesus)  the  "legitimate" 
son  of  this  Sadyattes.    But  Nicolaus'  distinction  between  Adra- 
mys and  Alyattes  may  easily  be  due  to  Xanthus'  having  seen 
both  names  Adramys  and  Alyattes  used  separately  of   this 
person  in  earlier  sources,  or  Adramys  called  Alyattes  after 
his  accession  to  the  throne. 

b.  In  the  passage  quoted   from  Steph.   Byz.  we  find  that 
Adramytes  is  designated  as  the  "brother  of  Croesus".     This 
would  place  him  in  the  fifth  instead  of  the  fourth  generation  of 
Mermnad  kings.     But  the  words  "brother  of  Croesus"  are 
apparently   only  an   afterthought  inserted  by   a  mistake,  by 
Steph.  Byz.  himself,  or  by  the  compiler  of  Aristotle's  Lydian 
TroAn-eta,   or   by   his   genealogical    source.      This    mistake    was 
due  doubtless  to  a  belief  that  the  name  Alyattes  for  the  father 
of  Adramytes  could  not  possibly  be  the  same  as  the  name 
of  Sadyattes  (the  third  Mermnad),  and  hence  must  refer  to 
Alyattes,   father  of   Croesus.     Compare  Rawlinson,  Hist,  of 
Herodotus  (1880),  vol.  I,  363,  note  9. 

There  seems  to  be,  therefore,  in  our  traditional  sources,  no 
valid  or  conclusive  reason  against  the  identification  of  Adra- 
mytes (Adramys,  Hermon)  with  Alyattes,  father  of  Croe- 
sus; and  so,  for  the  reasons  given  at  the  beginning  of  this 
section,  it  seems  proper  to  regard  them  as  the  same  person. 
It  is  possible,  then,  that  in  his  discussion  immediately  following 
the  passage  from  which  fr.  49  was  taken,  Nicolaus  (Xanthus) 
started  to  describe  the  vices  of  Gyges,  and  from  this  proceeded 
to  give  at  once  a  more  or  less  detailed  account  of  the  chief 
vices  of  the  whole  dynasty. 

4.  The  murderer  of  Daskylos  I. 

a.  When  the  murder  is  first  mentioned  by  Nicolaus,17  the 
murderer  is  said  to  be  Adyattes  II,  son  of  "Ardys"  I,  the 
twin-king. 

"  See  summary,  p.  33. 


44  THE    KINGS   OF    LYDIA 

b.  But  soon  afterward  Nicolaus  says  that  Daskylos  I  was 
killed  by  Sadyattes.18 

c.  Further,  Nicolaus  says  that  Meles18  expiated  the  murder 
by    voluntary    exile.      Radet    therefore    believes,    as    already 
noted,19  that  he  must  have  been  the  guilty  person,  for  surely  he 
would  not  take  the  trouble  to  wash  away  the  guilt  of  another 
person's  crime. 

We  thus  have  three  different  persons,  apparently,  charged 
with  the  murder  of  Daskylos  I.  But  since  Sadyattes  and 
Adyattes  are  only  different  forms20  of  the  same  name,  there  is 
no  real  contradiction  between  a  and  b  above.  As  for  the 
contradiction  between  a  and  c,  Radet's  belief  that  Meles  killed 
Daskylos  I  is  only  an  inference  from  the  statement  that  Meles 
went  into  voluntary  and  temporary  exile  to  expiate  this  crime. 
This  statement  appears  to  be  unhistorical,  for  reasons  given 
above.21  And  if  Meles  did  not  atone  for  the  crime,  there  re- 
mains no  reason  to  believe  that  he  committed  it,  and  no  reason 
to  identify  him,  as  Radet  does,22  with  Adyattes  II. 

Daskylos  I,  then,  was  killed  by  Adyattes  II,  son  of  "Ardys"  I. 
A  motive  for  the  crime  is  given  by  Nicolaus  (see  summary, 
p.  33)  :  the  crown  prince  feared  that  this  powerful  favorite 
would  seize  the  throne  upon  the  old  king's  death.  But  did  this 
Adyattes  II  actually  succeed  his  father?  Apparently  we  have 
no  record  that  he  did.  However,  if  Meles  was  (pp.  29-32)  a 
usurper  and  not  of  the  royal  house,  the  first  legitimate  king 
mentioned  after  "Ardys"  I  is  Myrsos,23  and  the  next  is  Myrsos' 
son  Kandaules  (Sadyattes).24  Presumably,  then,  Myrsos  was 
the  son  of  "Ardys"  I.  From  this  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude 
that  Myrsos  was  the  same  person  as  Adyattes  II,  and  that 
Myrsos  was  his  individual  name,  while  the  other  was  his  title. 

It  follows,  then,  that  Myrsos    killed  Daskylos  I.    Now,  the 

18  See  summary,  p.  34. 

19  See  above,  p.  29,  note  30. 

20  See  above,  p.  39. 

21  See  p.  29. 

21  La  Lydie,  78. 

23  See  the  conspectus,  p.  38. 

M  Nicolaus  does  not  say  that  Sadyattes  was  son  of  Myrsos;  but 
Herodotus  does  say  that  Kandaules  was  the  son  of  Myrsos.  And  rea- 
sons have  been  given  above  (pp.  39,  40),  indicating  that  Kandaules  was 
the  same  person  as  Sadyattes. 


THE    HERAKLEID    AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  45 

only  thing  we  are  told25  about  Myrsos  is  that  in  his  reign 
Daskylos  II  became  alarmed,  and  fled  from  Phrygia  (where 
his  mother  had  taken  refuge  after  the  death  of  Daskylos  I) 
into  Pontus  beyond  Sinope.  Assuming  that  it  was  Myrsos  who 
killed  Daskylos  I,  the  flight  of  Daskylos  II  from  Phrygia  is 
fully  explained.  It  would  be  perfectly  natural  for  him  to  flee 
still  farther  away  when  the  murderer  of  his  father  came  to  the 
throne. 

5.  The  TrpoTTctTo/aes  of  Kandaules  (Sadyattes). 

Ardys  (not  the  king,  but  the  aged  and  childless  Mermnad), 
in  asking  permission  of  Sadyattes  (Kandaules)  to  bring  back 
and  adopt  his  nephew  Daskylos  II,  said  it  was  right  for  the 
king  to  welcome  a  reconciliation  with  the  Daskylioi,26  since  the 
king's  TrpoTraropes  had  already  recalled  them  to  Lydia  from 
exile.  But  who  were  these  TjyxwraTo/oes  ?  We  have  an  account 
of  only  one  person  who  gave  such  an  invitation,  namely 
Meles.  Radet27  concludes,  therefore,  that  Meles  was  the  grand- 
father, the  TTpoTraroop,  of  the  last  Herakleid.  But  Meles,  an 
expelled  usurper,  cannot  be  regarded  as  the  grandfather  of 
Kandaules,  a  king  of  the  regular  line ;  although  it  may  be  that 
he  did  try28  to  win  the  favor  of  Daskylos  II. 

The  latest  person  who  could  properly  be  called  a  TrpoTrarw/o 
of  Kandaules  was  "Ardys"  I,  who  (as  we  have  seen  in  the 
preceding  section)  was  apparently  his  grandfather.  And  it  is 
certainly  natural  that  "Ardys"  I  should  have  recalled,  or  tried 
to  recall,  Daskylos  II,  since  it  is  stated  that  he  grieved  over 

25  See  summary,  p.  34. 

26FHG.  Ill,  383,  line  23.  See  summary  above,  p.  34.  Why  is  the 
plural  used  here?  According  to  the  account,  only  one  person,  Daskylos 
II,  had  been  called  back,  (i)  The  plural  cannot  refer  to  father  and 
son,  Daskylos  I  and  II,  for  Daskylos  I  had  already  been  murdered 
before  the  time  of  this  recall.  Besides,  the  form  is  Aao-KiAfois ,  not 
AaaKvXois.  (2)  It  doubtless  refers  to  the  family  and  household  of 
Daskylos  I,  which  would  include  his  son  Daskylos  II  and  the  immediate 
relatives.  (3)  Further,  "Daskylos"  may  well  have  been  an  ancestral 
name  in  the  Mermnad  family,  going  back  for  many  generations  earlier 
than  our  records.  The  plural  "Daskylioi"  would  thus  be  the  name,  or 
one  of  the  names,  for  the  whole  line  or  family.  (4)  From  them,  it 
was  probably  extended  so  as  to  include  the  entire  party  or  followers 
of  this  family. 

27  La  Lydie,  79. 

28  See  below,  p.  53. 


46  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

the  death  of  Daskylos  I  and  cursed  the  murderers.  Perhaps 
the  plural  TrpoTraropcs  is  used  because  the  speaker  was  referring 
not  so  much  to  a  single  king  as  to  the  royal  house.  Or  it  may 
be  that,  in  addition  to  the  invitation  which  we  may  think  was 
extended  by  "Ardys"  I  to  young  Daskylos  II,  some  of  the 
ancestors  of  "Ardys"  I  had  recalled  from  exile  earlier  members 
of  this  powerful  family,  the  Daskylioi  or  Mermnadae,  and  that 
this  was  the  reason  why  a  Daskylos  was  at  the  court  in  the 
time  of  "Ardys"  I.  Perhaps  the  Mermnadae  had  once,  at  a 
much  earlier  period,  been  kings  in  Sardes  or  in  Lydia,  but  had 
been  driven  out  and  subdued,  and  finally  had  become  so 
amenable  that  their  presence  at  the  court  was  no  longer  felt 
to  be  dangerous  but  a  source  of  advantage  to  the  king. 
6.  Moxos  (Mopsos)  and  Askalos. 

a.  Nicolaus  (fr.  24)  gives  us  some  information  concerning 
a  certain  Moxos  (see  the  full  text  of  the  fragment,  given  above, 
p.  26).    It  is  significant  that  he  is  not  called  a  king.     He  was 
a  brave  and  famous  Lydian,  renowned  for  his  military  exploits. 
The  fragment  states  that  he  drove  out  the  tyrant  Meles.     He 
captured  and  destroyed  the  town  of  Krabos,  and  threw  the 
inhabitants  into  the  lake  near  by,  oTa  dfo'ovs. 

b.  Xanthus,29    from   whom   it   is   generally   believed30   that 
Nicolaus  drew  much  of  his  material  concerning  Lydia,  tells 
us  that  Mopsos  the  Lydian  captured  Atergatis  and  her  son 
Ichthys,  and  threw  them  into  the  lake  near  Askalon  on  ac- 
count of  their    v/fy>is  ;   and  that  the  fishes   ate  them.     It   is 


29  Xanthus  fr.  11  (FHG.  I.  38)  is  preserved  by  Athenaeus  (VIII.  37; 
p.  346,  d),  who  gets  his  information  from  Mnaseas,  whom  he  quotes  as 
follows  :  "Mnaseas,  in  the  second  book  of  his  History  of  Asia,  speaks 
thus  :  'But  I  think  that  Atergatis  was  a  very  harsh  queen  (  pacrtXurcra, 
xaXeTnJ)  and  that  she  ruled  her  people  with  great  severity,  so  that  she 
even  forbade  them  by  law  to  eat  fish,  and  ordered  them  to  bring 
this  food  to  her,  because  she  was  fond  of  it.  And  on  account  of  this, 
a  custom  still  prevails  when  they  pray  to  the  Goddess,  to  offer  her 
golden  or  silver  fish  ;  and  for  the  priests  every  day  to  place  on  the 
table  before  the  Goddess  real  fish,  carefully  cooked,  both  boiled  and 
roasted,  which  the  priests  of  the  Goddess  eat  themselves.'  And  a 
little  farther  on  he  says  again  :  'But  Atergatis,  as  Xanthus  the 
Lydian  says,  was  captured  by  Mopsos  the  Lydian,  and  was  thrown  by 
him,  together  with  her  son  Ichthys,  into  the  lake  near  Askalon.  8iA  T^V 
And  the  fishes  ate  them.'  " 

"Christ,  Gr.  Lit.-gesch.  (1908),  p.  429. 


THE    HERAKLEID   AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  47 

strange  to  find  prisoners  of  war,  in  two  instances,  thrown  into 
the  water  in  this  way;  and  it  looks  as  if  these  two  accounts 
were  but  different  versions  of  the  same  story,  to  be  combined 
as  relating  to  the  same  person.  The  names  Moxos  and 
Mopsos  are  regarded  by  Miiller  and  Schubert31  as  different 
forms  of  the  same  name,  and  this  opinion  seems  to  me  correct. 
c.  Now  in  Xanthus32  fr.  23  it  is  stated  that  Akiamos,  king  of 
Lydia,  had  a  general  named  Askalos,  who  was  sent  on  a  mili- 
tary expedition,  during  which  he  fell  in  love  with  a  maiden  and 
founded  the  town  of  Askalon.  It  looks  as  if  this  were  the  same 
story  again;33  and  if  so,  the  town  "Askalon"  was  doubtless 
founded  on  the  site  of  the  conquered  Krabos.  This  would  ex- 
plain why  the  town  is  called  Krabos  by  Nicolaus  in  fr.  24; 
while  fr.  n  of  Xanthus,  without  mentioning  the  name  of  the 
conquered  town,  describes  the  lake  into  which  the  prisoners 
were  thrown  as  being  near  Askalon.  A  more  serious  inconsis- 
tency between  the  two  versions  just  mentioned  is  that  in  the 
one  case,  a,  the  people  of  the  town  are  fed  to  the  fishes,  while 
in  the  other,  bf  this  fate  befalls  two  persons  who  bear  the 

"Miiller,  FHG.  Ill,  371,  note  on  fr.  24;  Schubert,  Gesch.  d,  Kon. 
v.  Lyd.,  4.  See  also  Hachtmann,  De  ratione  inter  Xanthi  Lydiaca  et 
Herodoti  Lydiae  historiam  (Halle,  1869),  14,  and  Seidenstuecker,  De 
Xantho  Lydo  rerum  scriptore  quaestiones  selectae  (Kiel,  1895),  23,  24. 

88  Xanthus  f  r.  23  =  Nicolaus  f r.  26 :  "Tantalos  and  Askalos  were 
sons  of  Hymenaios.  Askalos  was  appointed  general  by  Akiamos,  king 
of  the  Lydians,  and  went  on  a  military  expedition  into  Syria.  There 
he  fell  in  love  with  a  maiden,  and  founded  a  town  which  he  named 
after  himself."  Miiller  (FHG.  Ill,  372,  note  on  fr.  26)  makes  this 
comment:  "Tantalus  non  est  ille  Niobes  pater;  nam  hunc  Xanthus 
(fr.  13)  Assaonem  appellavit."  He  might  have  added  that  the  Tanta- 
lus of  early  legend,  called  by  most  ancient  writers  the  father  of  Niobe, 
was  said  to  have  been  the  son  of  Zeus  (Diod.  IV.  74;  Hygin.  Fab. 
124)  or  of  Tmolus  (Nicolaus  fr.  17,  FHG.  Ill,  367). 

33  That  there  appears  to  be  some  kind  of  connection  between  this 
fragment  concerning  Akiamos,  Askalos,  and  Askalon,  and  the  fragment 
about  Mopsos  and  Askalon,  was  suggested  by  Sevin,  on  p.  240  of  his 
Recherche*  sur  les  rois  de  Lydie,  a  series  of  articles  written  during  the 
years  1719-1724,  and  published  in  Hist,  de  1'Acad.  des  Inscr.  et  Belles 
Lettres,  vol.  V  (1729),  Memoires,  pp.  231-272  (Miiller's  wrong  reference 
in  FHG.  Ill,  371,  note  24,  should  be  corrected  so  as  to  read  Mem.  de 
I'Acad.  V,  p.  253,  instead  of  X,  p.  250).  Miiller  (op.  cit.,  372,  note  26) 
accepts  Sevin's  suggestion;  and  it  has  been  made  also  by  Rawlinson, 
Hist,  of  Herodotus  (1880),  vol.  I,  348,  note  3,  who  perhaps  based  his 
view,  like  Miiller,  on  that  of  Sevin. 


48  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

names  of  the  goddess  Atergatis34  (to  whom  fishes  were  sacred) 
and  of  her  son  Ichthys.  Moreover  in  the  quotation  from 
Mnaseas,  who  gives  us  this  version,  b  (see  note  29),  it  may 
be  seen  that  Atergatis  the  "queen"  appears  to  be  identi- 
cal with  the  goddess ;  perhaps  the  word  /Sao-iAio-o-a  was  used  in 
this  connection  with  something  of  the  meaning  of  "Ba'alat" 
(for  which  see  Eduard  Meyer,  G.  d.  A.,  I2,  pp.  377,  378).  But 
how  could  Atergatis  be  fed  to  her  own  fishes?  The  most 
natural  explanation  of  the  two  versions,  a  and  b,  is  that  the 
people  of  the  conquered  town  were  worshippers  of  this  god- 
dess, and  that  some  of  them  were  thrown  into  the  lake  because 
the  conquering  general  worshipped  some  other  deity  and  pu- 
nished them  as  d0eW  (a)  because  they  were  without  his  gods. 
Similarly,  then,  the  v/fyu?  (b)  of  Atergatis  was  doubtless  the 
very  existence  of  her  worship  in  that  town,  which  the  con- 
queror may  have  thought  belonged  by  rights  to  his  own  deity. 
Apparently,  then,  he  identified  the  conquered  goddess  with 
her  people,  and  actually  fed  her  and  her  subjects  in  grim  irony 
to  her  own  fishes,  that  is,  threw  her  statue  along  with  her 
unlucky  worshippers  into  the  lake. 

But  if  these  three  accounts  discussed  above  (Nicolaus  fr.  24 
concerning  Moxos,  Xanthus  fr.  n  concerning  Mopsos,  and 
Xanthus  fr.  23  concerning  Askalos  and  King  Akiamos)  are 
in  origin  three  versions  of  the  same  story,  it  follows  that 
Askalos  was  the  same  person  as  Moxos  (Mopsos). 

7.  "Ardys"  and  Akiamos. 

In  the  time  of  King  "Ardys"  I  there  was  a  usurper  named 
Meles,  and  this  Meles  was  driven  out  by  Moxos.  Now  if 
Moxos  =  Askalos,  then  Askalos  was  the  leader  who  in  the 
time  of  "Ardys"  I  drove  out  the  tyrant.  But  Askalos  was  a 
general  under  King  Akiamos.  Perhaps,  then,  Akiamos  is  the 
same  person  as  "Ardys"  I.  Further,  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  name  "Ardys"  did  not  properly  belong  to  this  king 
at  all,  and  was  inserted  by  a  mistake  into  the  line  of  the 

"Lucian  (De  Dea  Syria,  1.451;  14460;  45-483 ;  47484)  describes  the 
cult  of  a  goddess  often  called  by  the  Greeks  Derketo  (Atergatis),  at 
Hierapolis  (Bambyke)  near  Carchemish.  The  shrine  was  near  a  lake, 
in  which  were  fishes  sacred  to  the  goddess.  Similar  cults  existed  else- 
where, e.g.  at  Askalon  in  Philistia  (Diod.  II.  4.  2.  See  Eduard  Meyer 
in  Roscher  Lex.  d.  Myth.,  s.v.  Astarte,  col.  653 ;  Cumont  in  Pauly-Wiss., 
s.v.  Dea  Syria,  col.  2237  ff.). 


THE    HERAKLEID    AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  49 

"Heracleidae".      This    view    is    supported    by    the    following 
considerations : 

a.  Ardys  is  a  name  which  seems  to  belong  to  the  family  of 
Gyges.    We  find  it  twice  among  the  Mermnadae,  Ardys  son  of 
Gyges  I,  and  Ardys  son  of  Gyges  II ;  and  quite  possibly  it  was 
an  ancestral  name  in  the  family.    But  except  for  the  "Ardys" 
son  of  Adyattes  I,  the  name  does  not  appear  at  all  in  the  family 
of  the  Heracleidae.    Further,  if  the  name  really  did  belong  to 
this  member  of  the  Herakleid  family,  it  seems  very  strange  that 
Gyges  II  should  have  given  to  his  son36  and  successor  the  name 
borne  by  the  father  of  the  man  who  murdered  Daskylos  I. 

b.  The  presence  of  the  name  "Ardys"  in  this  isolated  in- 
stance, in  the  family  of  Adyattes  I,  may  easily  be  explained 
as  follows : 

(i).  by  the  presence  of  an  Ardys  in  the  same  generation  in 
the  other  great  family,  the  Mermnadae.  (See  the  conspectus 
above,  p.  38.)' 

(ii).  by  the  fact  that  "Ardys"  I  had  a  long  life.  Nicolaus 
says  he  reigned  70  years.37  And  the  Mermnad  Ardys  in  this 
generation  also  had  a  long  life,  for  he  lived  to  adopt  Gyges  II, 
his  grandnephew,  as  his  son. 

(iii).  by  the  fact  that  a  later  Ardys,  in  the  dynasty  of  the 
Mermnadae,  was  known  as  the  father  of  a  Sadyattes  (or 
Alyattes).  And  "Ardys"  I  had  a  son  Adyattes  II. 

8.  Askalos  and  Daskylos  I. 

According  to  Nicolaus  (fr.  49;  see  summary,  p.  33)  Das- 
kylos I  was  a  favorite  of  King  "Ardys"  I,  son  of  Ady- 
attes I,  and  had  great  influence  in  his  time.  King  Akiamos 
also  had  a  trusted  subject,  a  general  named  Askalos,  who 
founded  Askalon.  Reasons  were  given  above  (p.  48)  for 
believing  that  this  Askalos  was  the  same  person  as  Moxos 
(Mopsos),  who  conquered  Krabos  and  fed  the  inhabitants 
to  the  fishes  of  Atergatis.  And  if  it  is  true,  as  suggested  in 
the  preceding  section,  that  Akiamos  was  the  son  of  Adyattes  I, 
the  name  "Ardys"  being  given  to  him  in  some  accounts  only  by 
mistake,  then  it  looks  as  if  Daskylos  the  powerful  favorite 
might  be  the  trusted  general  called  Askalos  in  some  accounts, 
and  so  the  same  as  Moxos  (Mopsos).  This  view  receives 

88  Herod.  I.  16.     See  summary  p.  36. 
8T  See  summary,  p.  33. 


5O  THE    KINGS    OF   LYDIA 

some  support  from  the  statement  of  Nicolaus  (I.e.)  that  "Ar- 
dys"  I  had  a  good  army.  It  sounds  improbable,  perhaps,  that 
one  person  should  figure  in  these  accounts,  meagre  as  they 
are  anyway,  under  four  names.  But  just  as  Moxos  and 
Mopsos  are  really  forms  of  the  same  name,  so  Daskylos  and 
Askalos  may  be  the  same  name  in  origin;  for  apparently 
"Askalos"  is  a  corruption  of  "Daskylos",  not  so  much  through 
any  phonetic  change38  or  confusion  of  script,  as  through  the 
influence  of  the  well  known  name  Askalon.  If  so,  then  this 
person  had  but  two  names,  one  that  from  which  the  forms 
Moxos  and  Mopsos  were  derived,  the  other  the  original  form 
of  the  names  Daskylos  and  Askalos.  He  may  have  had  a 
double  name  from  the  beginning,  or  one  of  his  two  names  may 
have  been  a  title  or  an  epithet. 

It  is  told  by  both  Xanthus  and  Nicolaus  that  this  Lydian 
general  founded  a  city  called  "Askalon".  Now,  it  is  a  far  cry 
from  Lydia  to  Askalon  in  Philistia.  But  no  other  Askalon  is 
known.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  several  towns  named 
Daskylion39  in  western  Asia  Minor;  and  one40  of  these,  it 
seems,  was  in  Lydia  on  the  shore  of  the  Gygaean  lake.  More- 
over, not  far  from  this  town  was  the  cult  of  Artemis  Koloene.41 
This  goddess  of  the  lake  was,  quite  possibly,  sometimes  called 
Atergatis;42  and  the  fishes  in  the  lake  seem  to  have  been 
sacred  to  her.43  Does  it  not  look  as  if  the  lake  near  Krabos44 

38  It  is  possible  that  this  also  had  some  influence.    See  below,  note  40. 
"Ruge,  in   Pauly-Wissowa,  s.v.   Daskyleion. 

*°The  village  Iskele  (see  map  of  Olfers  and  Spiegelthal,  in  Abh.  d.  k. 
Akad.  d.  Wiss.  zu  Berlin,  1858,  plate  facing  p.  556)  suggesting  an  ancient 
name  Daskylion,  like  the  ancient  city  Aa<rK&\iov  on  the  Propontis,  in 
the  region  of  which  are  the  modern  Eskil-kjoi,  Eskil-liman  (doubt- 
less from  *  'AoTcuX/  o  or  *'A<ric&\ov  Xi/i^p  ),  and  Iskele  or  Iskelessi 
(Kiepert,  Specialkarte  v.  West.  Kl.-As.  No.  2;  Texier,  Asie  Mineure 
II,  161).  [Of  course,  it  might  be  possible  to  derive  a  name  like  Iskele 
from  the  modern  Greek  <ncdXct,  Italian  scala,  meaning  stairway,  landing- 
place,  sea-port.  Cf.  Texier,  1.  c.] 
41  Strabo  XIII.  626. 

a  Two  sepulchral  inscriptions  were  found  by  Buresch  (Aus  Lydien, 
117,  118)  some  distance  to  the  northwest  of  the  lake.  One  contains  the 
expression  ef  rts  8t  TrapandpT-r)  T<?  rd(f>({)  /xeri  rbv  Qdvarbv  /iou,  TT^V  'Avaeiriv  rty 
&irb  iepov  OSaros  K€XO\W/J.^VIJV  ££«.  The  other  is  similar  :  KCXO\(I}^VOV  ££et  rbv 

Qebv  [ K\al '  ArapKva.T€{tv\. 

^Varro  R.R.  III.  17.4;  Pliny  N.  H.  II.  209;  Forbiger,  Handb.  d.  Alt. 
Geog.  II,  177  note  75;  E.  Miiller  in  his  article  Gygcs  und  der  Gygdische 
see,  Philologus  VII  (1852),  243  and  notes;  C.  Miiller,  FHG.  Ill,  372, 
note  on  fr.  27. 


THE    HERAKLEID    AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  5! 

or  Askalon,45  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  conquered  town 
were  fed  by  the  general  "Askalos"  to  the  fishes  sacred  to  the 
goddess  Atergatis,46  was  this  same  Gygaean  lake,  and  that  the 
town  was  really  named  Daskylion  not  Askalon,  though  before 
it  was  conquered  it  may  have  been  called  Krabos?  The  true 
story  seems  to  have  been  that  Krabos  was  destroyed  and  that  a 
new  town  was  founded,  perhaps  on  the  old  site,  and  named 
from  the  conqueror.  But  if  the  town  name  was  "Daskylion", 
then  the  conqueror  must  have  been  "Daskylos".  How  then 
does  the  name  of  the  town  appear  in  the  tradition  as  "Askalon" 
and  the  conqueror  as  "Askalos"?  Doubtless  Askalon  was  a 
famous  name  even  to  the  historians  of  Xanthus'  time  and  per- 
haps earlier.  Daskylion  may  have  been  little  known.  What 
more  natural  than  that  some  one  assumed  that  the  town,  con- 
quered, re- founded,  and  re-named  by  the  great  Lydian  general 
of  the  olden  time,  was  the  famous  town  of  which  all  knew 
vaguely,  namely  the  great  Askalon  in  Philistia,  and  changed  the 
name  from  Daskylion,  which  was  right,  to  Askalon,  which  was 
wrong,  and  so  projected  the  story  of  the  feeding  of  the  prison- 
ers to  the  fishes  and  all  the  other  details  upon  the  wrong  city. 
This  mistake  would  be  still  more  natural  because  the  story 
involved  the  goddess  Atergatis,  an  important  seat  of  whose 
worship  was  at  Askalon  in  Syria.47  And  if  some  one  in  his 
account  changed  the  town's  name  from  Daskylion  to  Askalon, 
of  course  he  had  to  change  the  conqueror's  name  from  Dasky- 
los to  Askalos,  else  there  would  have  been  no  point  in  at  least 
a  part  of  his  story.  If  so,  the  general  was  named  "Daskylos" 
and  Moxos  (Mopsos)  ;  and  "Askalos"  was  not  his  name  at  all 
but  only  a  mistake  in  the  "tradition".48  Moreover,  if  the  con- 

44  See  above,  p.  26,  Xicolaus  fr.  24. 
"Xanthus  fr.  n;  see  above,  p.  46,  note  29. 
48  See  above,  p.  48. 

47  Diodorus  II.  4.     See  Benzinger  in  Pauly-Wissowa,  s.v.  Askalon. 

48  We  have  seen  above   (compare  page  47,  note  32)   that  the  names 
Askalos    and    Tantalos   are   associated   by   Xanthus,    as   belonging   to 
brothers.    It  is  suggestive  to  note  that  among  the  Greek  genealogists  the 
names   Daskylos   and  Tantalos   are  associated.     Nymphis   and   Hero- 
dorus  (ap.  Schol.  Apoll.  Rhod.  II.  724,  752)  mention  a  certain  Daskylos, 
son  of  Tantalos.     Lykos,  the  son  of  this  Daskylos,  was  said  to  have 
entertained  Herakles  during  the  latter's  expedition  to  get  the  girdle 
of  Hippolyte. 


52  THE    KINGS    OF    LYDIA 

quered  town  was  falsely  identified  with  the  real  Askalon,  it 
is  easy  to  understand  why  some  one  added  to  the  account  the 
additional  item  that  the  expedition  on  which  the  general  was 
sent  was  into  "Syria".49 

The  identification  of  Daskylos  I  with  the  "Askalos"  of  the 
traditional  accounts  of  the  capture  of  Krabos,  etc.,  that  is, 
with  Moxos  (Mopsos),  makes  more  comprehensible  the  feud 
between  Adyattes  II  and  this  person.  In  speaking  of  Dasky- 
los I,  Nicolaus50  uses  the  following  words :  "A/oSv'i  Sc  yry/oao-Kovn 

r)Sr)    7r/3O<r<£iA.€<TTa,TO?    rjv  AacrKvAos    Fvyca),    yei/os    Mep/xvaS^s.      OVTOS 
aTTacrav  a)s  eiTretv  rrjv  AvSaV  a/o^V  Sia  Xa/°°9  et^c.       On  the  face  of  it, 

such  a  passage  might  indicate  nothing  more  than  the  influence 
exerted  upon  the  affairs  of  Lydia  by  a  royal  favorite  who 
possessed  no  more,  real  power  than,  for  example,  Antinous. 
But  if  this  Daskylos,  a  member  of  the  powerful  family  of  the 
Mermnadae,  was  not  only  a  favorite  of  the  king,  but  in  himself 
a  strong  man;  if  he  was  the  leader  of  at  least  one  successful 
military  expedition,  had  reduced  Krabos  and  founded  a  city 
which  he  called  by  his  own  name;  if  he  had  driven  out  the 
usurper  Meles  and  restored  the  old  king  to  the  throne,  it  is 
easy  to  understand  that  the  crown  prince,  afterwards  Adyattes 
II,  regarded  him  as  a  dangerous  rival  and  desired  to  be  rid  of 
him  by  foul  means  if  not  by  fair.  Such  a  rivalry,  apparently 
to  some  extent  inherited  by  the  descendants  of  the  principals, 
is  plainly  alluded  to  in  the  statements  made51  to  his  followers 
by  Gyges  II,  grandson  of  Daskylos  I,  when  he  was  preparing 
for  his  revolution  against  Sadyattes  (Kandaules),  son52  of 
this  Adyattes  II  (Myrsos)  and  last  king  of  the  Heracleidae. 

9.  In  the  light  of  the  preceding  discussion,  and  of  that  given 
in  Chapter  II,  we  may  now  summarize  briefly  what  appears 
to  have  been  the  historical  course  of  events  regarding  the  politi- 
cal disturbances  in  the  reign  of  King  Akiamos  ("Ardys"  I). 
Toward  the  end  of  this  king's  reign,  when  he  had  become 
aged  and  infirm,  three  political  parties  began  to  struggle  for 
ascendancy:  (a).  The  party  of  the  ruling  house,  headed  by  the 

49  See  p.  47,  note  32 ;  Xanthus  f  r.  23. 

84  Fr.  49;  FHG.  Ill,  382,  line  10. 

"Nicolaus  fr.  49;  FHG.  Ill,  385,  line  5.  Gyges,  in  soliciting  his 
friends'  aid,  reminds  them  of  the  murder  of  Daskylos  I  and  of  the 
curses  pronounced  by  the  aged  "Ardys"  I  upon  his  murderers. 

c2  See  above,  p.  44  and  note  24. 


THE    HERAKLEID    AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  53 

crown  prince  Adyattes  II.  (b).  The  party  of  the  Mermnadae, 
led  by  Moxos  =  Daskylos  I.  (c).  The  party  of  Meles.  This  third 
party  at  first  triumphed  and  Meles  usurped  the  royal  power, 
but  was  afterward  driven  out  by  Moxos  =  Daskylos  I.  This 
general  then  became  a  hero  and  the  powerful  favorite  of  the 
king.  The  crown  prince  in  jealousy  killed  him;  and  the  strong 
party  of  'Moxos  =  Daskylos  I,  deprived  of  its  leader,  lost  its 
hold.  Meles  at  once  took  advantage  of  his  opportunity,  re- 
turned from  Babylon  and  seized  the  throne  again.  Since  the 
family  of  the  Daskylioi  were  now  alienated  from  the  ruling 
house,  Meles  might  naturally  make  overtures  to  them  and  try 
to  secure  their  support  for  himself.  Their  refusal  is  easy  to 
understand,  and  it  doubtless  constituted  the  negative  reason, 
while  active  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  crown  prince  was 
the  positive  cause,  of  Meles'  second  and  permanent  expulsion. 

10.  "Sadyattes"  the  "regent",  son  of  Kadys. 

This  person  has  a  place  in  the  narrative  only  if  Meles  went 
into  voluntary  exile  ;  for  if  Meles  went  into  exile  without  losing 
the  kingship,  some  one  must  have  held  the  throne53  for  him 
during  his  absence.  But  if  the  story  of  Meles'  voluntary 
exile  is  rejected  as  unhistorical,54  the  whole  story  about  a 
regent  should  be  rejected  too.  Of  course,  Sadyattes  the  son 
of  Kadys,  though  not  a  regent,  may  have  been  a  real  person,  as 
well  as  Sadyattes  the  merchant  from  whom  Croesus  tried  to 
borrow,55  unless  these  names  were  employed  by  tradition- 
mongers  merely  to  give  definiteness  to  stories  previously  name- 
less. 

11.  Tylon. 

In  Nicolaus  no  information  is  given  concerning  Tylon  be- 
yond the  mere  mention  that  he  was  a  remote56  ancestor  of 
Kadys,  and  of  Lixos.  But  some  exceedingly  interesting  ma- 
terial about  him  is  to  be  found  collected  by  Radet,57  and  better 


e.      FHG.   Ill,  383,   line  5. 

54  See  above  pp.  29  ff. 

M  Nicolaus  fr.  65;  see  summary,  p.  35.  Apparently,  then,  the  name 
Sadyattes  was  not  used  exclusively  by  the  kings  of  Lydia. 

56  Nicolaus  fr.  49;  FHG.  Ill,  383,  line  4:  M^XTJS  5£  Qevywv  rrjv  d/>xV 
£jrl<TTev(re  "2a.8vd.TTr)  rep  KdSuos,  ytvos  6vTi  r6  av^Kadev  airo  TiSXajpos.  Also  p. 
384,  line  12  :  KO.I  AI£OJ  roO  TvXomou  ytvovs. 

"La  Lydie,  83,  84,  and  notes. 


54  THE    KINGS   OF   LYDIA 

still  by  Head.58  Briefly  it  is  as  follows :  "Pliny  (N.H.  XXV.  14), 
on  the  authority  of  Xanthus,  relates  that,  after  having  been 
killed  by  the  bite  of  a  serpent,  Tylon59  was  restored  to  life  by 
the  virtue  of  an  herb  called  Balis.  In  the  story  of  the  resusci- 
tation of  Tylos60as  told  by  Nonnus  (Dionysiaca  XXV.  451-551), 
the  healing  plant  is  called  Aios  avOos,  and  is  given  him  by  his 
sister  Morie.  According  to  Nonnus,  the  serpent,  after  having 
bitten  Tylos,  was  slain  by  a  giant  warrior  named  Damasen,  a 
son  of  Ge.  Nonnus  next  tells  how  a  female  serpent,  the  wife 
of  the  slaughtered  monster,  coming  to  the  rescue  of  her  mate, 
brought  him  in  her  mouth  a  spray  of  the  magic  plant  and  half 
restored  to  life  her  dead  companion.  Meanwhile  the  girl 
Morie,  the  sister  of  the  dead  Tylos,  witnessing  this  marvel, 
did  likewise,  and  thus  restored  Tylos  to  life."  There  are  also 
three  coins61  of  Sardes  to  be  noticed:  (i)  Time  of  Severus 
Alexander.  Two  male  figures  face  to  face,  each  holding  on 
one  arm  a  bent  and  knotted  club.  One  presents  to  the  other  a 
branch  of  some  plant.  On  the  ground  between  them  is  a  dead 
serpent.  In  the  field  are  the  names  of  the  two  heroes,  "Mas- 
nes"  and  "Tylos".  These  names  are  equally  near  both  figures, 
but  presumably  it  is  Masnes  who  presents  the  herb  to  Tylos. 
(2)  Time  of  Gordian  III.  Male  figure  wielding  club  against 
large  serpent  coiled  and  erect  before  him,  holding  in  its  mouth 
a  branch  of  some  plant.  Across  the  field  "Masanes".  (3)  A 
coin  of  Otacilia  (Mion.  IV,  p.  138,  No.  789).  Male  figure  in 
a  car  drawn  by  two  winged  serpents.  His  name,  "Tylos",  is 
written  across  the  field.  Beneath  the  car  lies  another  figure, 
accompanied  by  the  name  "Ge".  And  Tylos  was  "son  of  the 
earth"  according  to  Dionys.  Halic.  I.  27. 

Evidently  then  Tylon  or  Tylos  was  a  god  or  hero  who,  at 
least  in  the  Roman  period,  was  regarded  as  a  national  figure  in 
Lydian  history.  At  one  time,  presumably  in  his  youth,  he  was 
killed  (though  soon  restored  to  life)  by  a  serpent.  Now,  a 
Greek  hero,  the  most  famous  of  them  all,  was  all  but  destroyed 
in  infancy  by  serpents,  namely  Herakles;  and  the  coin  of 
Severus  Alexander,  representing  Tylon  with  a  knotted  club, 
suggests  that  Tylon  and  Herakles  were  identified.  But  if 

68  Cat.  Coins  Brit.  Mus.,  Lydia,  pp.  cxi  ff. 
M  Pliny  uses  this  form  of  the  name. 
89  Nonnus  uses  this  form. 
"Head,  I.e. 


THE    HERAKLEID   AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  55 

Tylon  or  Tylos,  the  reputed  ancestor  of  a  Kadys,  and  of  a 
"Sadyattes"  (i.e.  the  supposititious  regent  for  Meles),  and  of 
Lixos,  was  identified62  with  Herakles  the  reputed  ancestor 
of  the  royal  family  of  the  "Heracleidae",  then  this  Kadys  may 
well  have  been  in  fact  the  Herakleid  twin-king  Kadys;  and  it 
follows  that  Lixos,  a  member  of  the  same  family,  was  a  prince 
of  the  blood.63  It  looks  therefore  as  if  "Heracleidae"  was  but 
the  Greek  name  for  the  royal  family  who,  in  the  native  tra- 
dition, traced  their  origin  to  the  mythical  Tylon. 

This  identification  of  the  ancestor  of  the  royal  line  with 
the  Greek  Herakles  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the 
Greek  chronologists,  for  it  enabled  them  (by  filling  up  the 
gaps  in  the  family  genealogy,  and  assigning  to  each  genera- 
tion an  arbitrary  number  of  years,  according  to  the  methods  of 
the  Greek  chronologists)  to  assign  definite  dates  to  the  events 
of  Lydian  history.  Moreover,  the  fact  that  in  all  our  accounts, 
including  that  of  Xanthus  (Nicolaus),  the  royal  family  before 
Gyges  appears  always  under  the  name  "Heracleidae",  whereas 
the  "Tylonii"  appear  as  a  separate  family,  although  there  is 
nothing  in  the  tradition  itself  which  prevents  their  complete 
identification,  shows  how  strong  the  Greek  influence  was  with 
all,  even  Xanthus  himself,  who  gave  form  and  permanence  to 
this  tradition.  The  name  "Heracleidae"  is  Greek,  and  so  can- 
not have  been  the  original  and  historical  name  of  a  Lydian 
family. 

Radet    (La  Lydie,  84),  because   of  the  Thracian  district 

0  Masnes  also  appears  to  be  a  Lydian  deity  or  hero;  and  it  would 
seem  that  he,  since  he  killed  the  serpent,  should  correspond  to  the 
Greek  Herakles.  Perhaps  he  was  so  identified;  but  no  great  Lydian 
family  is  known  to  have  traced  its  descent  from  Masnes,  as  one  evi- 
dently did  from  Tylon.  Masnes,  therefore,  did  not  suit  the  needs  of 
the  Greek  chronologists  (see  just  below). 

63  It  is  possible  that  Lixos  was  a  grandson  of  Kadys,  since  he  comes 
in  the  second  generation  after  Kadys  (i.e.,  in  that  of  Kandaules 
and  Gyges  II.  See  genealogical  conspectus  on  p.  58;  also  p.  38). 
The  quarrel  between  Lixos  and  Gyges  II  occupies  an  important 
place  in  Nicolaus'  account  (fr.  49)  of  the  founder  of  the  Mermnad 
dynasty.  Regarding  Lixos  as  a  prince  of  the  blood,  it  is  easy  to 
understand  his  enmity  toward  Gyges,  a  member  of  the  great  rival 
family  of  the  Mermnadae.  And  when  Kandaules  (Sadyattes)  was 
killed,  Lixos  may  well  have  thought  that  he  had  a  claim  to  the 
throne. 


56  THE    KINGS    OF   LYDIA 

"Tylis"  mentioned  by  Steph.  Byz.  (s.v.),  regards  Tylon  as  in 
all  probability  imported  by  the  Indogermanic  migrations  into 
Asia  Minor  (ca.  1200  B.C.64  and  earlier),  that  is,  among 
others,  by  the  "Maionians".65  This  is  quite  possible.  And, 
as  Head  says  (op.  cit.,  p.  cxiii),  "the  Tylos  myth,  as  symboliz- 
ing the  return  of  spring  after  winter,  by  resurrection  after 
death,  no  doubt  formed  part  of  the  sacred  mysteries  of  the 
cult  of  Demeter  and  Kore  celebrated  at  Sardes."  But  this  same 
symbolism  belongs  to  the  primitive  Anatolian66  deity  Attes, 
worshipped  in  Sardes  and  throughout  a  large  part  of  Asia 
Minor,  with  ritual  observances  commemorating  his  death  and 
resurrection.67  Perhaps,  then,  the  Indogermanic  Tylon  simply 
took  the  older,  native  deity's  place  with  the  new  dynasty, 
probably  assimilating  part  of  his  attributes,  and  becoming  to 
some  extent,  though  never  entirely,  identified  with  him.  If 
this  is  right,  then  there  seems  to  be  a  germ  of  truth  in 
Herodotus'  tradition  about  the  "Herakleid"  dynasty,  and  "the 
rulers  descended  from  Atys"  who  preceded  the  "Heracleidae". 
And  there  is  even  some  excuse  for  the  Greek  logographers 
who  seem  to  refer  both  Mermnadae  and  Heracleidae  to 
Herakles  as  an  ancestor.  That  the  Heracleidae  were  so  traced 
is  obvious.  But  Apollodorus  (Bibl.  II.  7.8)  mentions,  as  a  son  of 
Herakles  and  Omphale,  'Aye'Aaos,  oOev  KCU  TO  KpotVov  yeVos.  Per- 
haps the  Mermnadae  (who  were,  as  far  back  as  our  records 
go68  and  therefore  probably  much  earlier  still,  the  powerful 
rivals  of  the  Heracleidae)  were  of  the  old  Anatolian  stock.69 
If  so,  it  would  be  natural  for  them,  like  the  earlier  Anatolian 
rulers  of  Lydia,  to  trace  their  descent  from  Attes.70  And 
if  a  Lydian  god  could  be  identified  by  some  of  the 
Greeks  with  Herakles,  while  others  called  him  Tylon,  and  still 

"Eduard  Meyer,  G.  d.  A.,  Ia,  p.  613. 

68  See  Kretschmer,  EM.  in  die  Gesch.  der  Gr.  Sprache,  385.  See 
also  summary  p.  36  above. 

^Farnell,  Greece  and  Babylon   (1911),  254,  255. 

^Cumont,  in  Pauly-Wissowa,  s.v.  Attis,  col.  2249. 

68  See  summary,  p.  33 ;  see  also  p.  46,  and  note  17  on  p.  23. 

*It  is  my  opinion  that  they  were  not  only  of  Anatolian  stock,  but 
also  perhaps  akin  to  the  Hittites;  and  I  hope  at  some  time  in  the 
future  to  publish  my  reasons  for  this  view. 

70  Herodotus  (I.  34)  gives  the  name  Atys  to  a  son  of  Croesus.  See 
summary,  p.  36. 


THE    HERAKLEID   AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  57 

others  spoke  of  Attes,  it  is  easy  to  see  one  source  of  confu- 
sion in  the  compilations  of  genealogists. 


III.  Reverting  once  more  to  the  summaries  of  our  traditional 
accounts  and  the  conspectus  of  them  given  at  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter,  and  applying  the  results  of  the  discussion  con- 
tained in  the  foregoing  pages,  a  new  "genealogical"  list  of 
Lydian  kings  may  now  be  constructed.  (For  the  following 
list,  compare  the  accompanying  diagram.) 

i.  TYLON,  the  mythological  eponymous  ancestor  is  naturally 
to  be  placed  at  the  top  of  the  diagram.  Somewhere  between  him 
and  the  list  of  kings  may  perhaps  be  placed  ALKIMOS,  said71 
to  have  been  an  early  king  of  Lydia,  the  most  prosperous  and 
best  beloved  of  all.  The  only  other  royal  name  mentioned  in 
the  accounts  of  Herodotus,  Nicolaus  (Xanthus),  and  the 
chronographers,  preceding  the  nine  kings  given  in  the  list  be- 
low, is  AGRON,  said  by  Herodotus  to  have  been  the  first  Hera- 
kleid  king  of  Lydia.  All  these  three  names  of  course  belong  to 
the  mythological  literature. 

The  first  name  in  the  new  list  of  kings  is  ADY ATTES  I  (see 
Nicolaus  fr.  49).  KADYS  and  AKIAMOS  ("Ardys"  I)  are  his 
two  sons;  and  DASKYLOS  I  (ASKALOS)  =  Moxos  (Mopsos) 
may  be  placed  in  the  corresponding  generation  of  the  Mermna- 
dae,  as  a  son  of  Gyges  I.  SPERMOS  was  a  cousin  of  Kadys 
and  "Ardys"  I,  so  he  was  probably  the  son  of  a  brother  of 
Adyattes  I.  MYRSOS  is  here  taken  to  be  the  son  of  Akiamos 
("Ardys"  I),  and  identical  with  ADYATTES  II,  the  murderer  of 
Daskylos  I.  Lastly,  KANDAULES  (SADYATTES)  is  here  con- 
sidered to  be  the  son  of  Myrsos;  while  "Sadyattes",  the 
supposititious  regent,  and  Lixos,  are  respectively  son  and 
grandson  of  Kadys. 

The  Mermnad  line  presents  no  difficult'! es.  The  aged, 
childless  ARDYS  I,  uncle  of  Daskylos  II,  is  a  son  of  GYGES  I. 
Then  in  order  come  DASKYLOS  I  and  II,  GYGES  II,  ARDYS  II 
(ALYATTES),  [Kambles72]  (SADYATTES),  [Adramytes73]  (ALY- 


n  Nicolaus  fr.  49,  FHG.  Ill,  382;  Xanthus  fr.  10. 
"See  above,  pp.  40  ff. 
TOSee  above,  pp.  42  ff. 


1 


? 


n 

— I — I — 1 


1— I 

I 
-I 

+  . 

I 
1 


1      I 


I 


I— ii— ! 

<'  si 


ii 

I    11     I 
I    1    1 


THE    HERAKLEID   AND    MERMNAD   DYNASTIES  59 

ATTES),  and  CROESUS.  The  sister  of  Sadyattes,  married  by 
him,  was  previously  wife  of  MILETOS.  This  man  was  "a 
descendant  of  MELAS,  son-in-law  of  Gyges".  This  passage74 
doubtless  refers  to  Gyges  I;  for  if  Gyges  II  had  been  meant, 
Miletos  would  have  been  called  the  son,  not  the  descendant 
( dTToyovos),  of  Melas.  Melas  is  then  to  be  placed  in  the 
same  generation  with  MELES;  and  though  the  names  MeVas75 
and  Mij\r}s  are  somewhat  different,  it  is  possible  that  the  two 
persons  may  be  the  same.  If  so,  it  was  very  natural  for  the 
usurping  tyrant  to  try  to  strengthen  his  position,  perhaps  be- 
fore his  tyranny  or  in  preparation  for  it,  by  a  marriage  al- 
liance with  the  powerful  family  of  the  Mermnadae. 

In  this  "genealogy"  or  list  there  are  thus  two  ruling  dynas- 
ties, with  four  kings  in  the  first  (not  including  usurpers), 
and  five  in  the  second.76 


74  Nicolaus  fr.  63.     See  summary,  p.  35. 

"The  name  MAas  (gen.  MAa*  -  os  :  Nic.  fr.  63,  FHG.  Ill,  396) 
appears  to  be  Greek,  but  it  may  have  been  a  native  name  so  written 
by  the  Greeks  in  order  to  give  it  a  Greek  meaning,  perhaps  another 
instance  of  the  liberties  freely  taken  by  the  Greeks  with  native  non- 
Greek  names  (cf.  Fick,  Hattiden  und  Danubier  in  Griechenland  [1909], 
i).  The  name  MAas  (MAa?  -  os)  is  applied  to  various  rivers  in  Asia 
Minor:  a  river  between  Pamphylia  and  Cilicia  (Strabo  XIV.  667;  Pau- 
san.  VIII.  28.3),  a  river  in  Cappadocia  (Strabo  XII.  538),  and  a  river 
in  Pontus  (Pliny  N.H.  VI.  n).  The  same  root  may  perhaps  be  found 
in  M^XTJJ  (MATjr-os)  the  name  of  a  river  in  Ionia,  near  Smyrna  (Strabo 
XII.  554;  XIV.  646).  And  though  Choiroboskos  (Schol.  ad  Theodos. 
Canon.,  in  Grammatici  Graeci  part  IV,  vol.  I,  p.  160  [ed.  A.  Killer, 
1894,  Teub.])  distinguishes  the  river  MAijs  from  the  river  MI^XTJS  (MiJ- 
XT/T  -  os )  ,  near  Colophon,  which  was  so  near  Smyrna,  yet  he  implies 
that  other  grammarians  considered  the  streams  identical,  and  admits 
that  they  regarded  one  name  as  a  variant  form  of  the  other. 

7*  There  are  no  records  anywhere  of  more  than  five  kings  in  this 
dynasty.  We  may  date  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Gyges  II  about  652 
B.C.,  and  the  fall  of  Sardes  and  of  Croesus,  at  the  hands  of  Cyrus,  in 
546  B.C.  (Lehmann-Haupt  in  Pauly-Wiss.  s.v.  Gyges  [1912],  col. 
1961,  1964).  For  such  a  period  of  about  106  years,  two  kings  are  out  of 
the  question ;  three  are  possible,  but  improbable,  for  the  reigns  are  too 
long.  It  is  reasonable,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  four  is  the  correct 
number  of  Gyges'  successors. 


6O  THE    KINGS   OF   LYDIA 

2.  One  objection  to  this  new  list  of  kings  remains  to  be  con- 
sidered.    In  the  chronographers'  lists77  Meles  is  placed  after 
Alyattes  (Adyattes  II)  =  Myrsos,78  and  just  before  Kandaules. 
In  the  reconstructed  list  Meles,  if  mentioned  at  all,  ought  to 
come  just  after  or  in  the  time  of  Akiamos  (Ardys"  I),  whose 
throne  he  usurped.    But  if  it  be  true  that  Meles  was  a  usurper, 
that  he  was  a  contemporary  of  Alyattes  (Adyattes  II)  =  Myr- 
sos,78 and  that  he  seized  the  kingdom  twice  before  he  was 
finally  expelled,79  a  confusion  in  the  accounts  preserved  by  the 
chronographers  is  easy  to  understand. 

3.  This  new  list  of  nine  Lydian  kings  attempts  only  to  give 
the  names  of  the  kings  and  their  correct  order  of  succession. 
It  is  offered  tentatively,  as  something  more  satisfactory  than 
other  lists  thus  far  proposed.     It  may  well  be  that  it  gives 
us  historical  truth,  and  that  parts  of  it  were  ultimately  de- 
rived from  some  kind  of  early  written  records,  even  if  these 
were  no  more  than  inscriptions  on  royal  tombs. 

We  can  also  see  that  the  secret  of  the  confusion  in  our 
traditional  accounts,  in  their  present  untrustworthy  form, 
is  this :  Xanthus  or  some  preceding  writer  doubtless  had  be- 
fore him  at  least  two  different  earlier  sources  or  groups  of 
sources.  One  of  these  was  substantially  correct  and  cor- 
responded, as  we  may  believe,  to  our  new  "genealogy",  but  was 
confused,  and  used  the  proper  names  and  the  common  name 
or  title  (Sadyattes,  Adyattes,  Alyattes)  indiscriminately  for 
certain  kings.  The  other  source,  or  group  of  sources,  wrongly 
used  the  name  "Ardys"  instead  of  Akiamos,  and  regarded 
Moxos,  Askalos,  and  Daskylos,  as  different  persons. 

It  is  also  clear  that  the  key  to  the  solution  here  offered 
is  contained  in  the  identification  of  Meles  II  (Nico- 
laus  fr.  24)  and  Meles  III  (Nicolaus  fr.  49),  which  was  made 
possible  by  a  re-examination  of  the  order  and  the  assignment 
into  'books'  of  the  fragments  from  Nicolaus  contained  in 

77  See  summary,  and  conspectus,  pp.  37,  38. 

78  See  above,  pp.  39,  44. 

79  See  pp.  29,  30. 


THE  HERAKLEID  AND  MERMNAD  DYNASTIES  6l 

the  two  series  of  Excerpta,  the  De  Virtutibus  and  the  De 
Insidiis.  For,  if  this  identification  is  correct,  the  two  frag- 
ments concerning  Meles  may  be,  and  properly  should  be, 
combined.  It  is  thus  made  possible  to  deal  with  only  one 
account  of  this  person,  a  usurper  in  the  time  of  "Ardys"  I  and 
mentioned  by  Nicolaus  in  the  course  of  the  passage  from  which 
fr.  49  was  taken.  The  way  is  then  clear  for  considering 
the  relations  between  the  persons  mentioned  at  the  end  of 
the  preceding  paragraph,  and  for  discussing  the  other  matters 
which  have  been  taken  up  in  this  chapter. 


LTBRARY     USE 

boo,  ,.  due  before  c.os.n9  time  on  the  ....  d.>e  ...n.ped  be.ow 

HUP  A 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
FORM  NO.  DD6A,  20m,  12/80     BERKELEY,  CA  947: 


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